VENTURA : Sheridan Way School Gets $400,000 Grant
An elementary school in one of Ventura’s poorest neighborhoods received a $400,000 state grant Wednesday to bring medical and social services directly on campus to students and their families, officials said.
Sheridan Way Elementary School, 573 Sheridan Way, received the grant from the Healthy Start program administered by the California Department of Education. It was the only Ventura County school to receive such a grant, officials said.
Sheridan Way Principal Trudy Tuttle-Arriaga, who spent hours writing an application for the money, said she started jumping up and down in her office when she got the call.
“There were children walking by and I know they were thinking, ‘Well, she’s really lost it now,’ ” Tuttle-Arriaga said.
She said she will use the money to offer a variety of services to her students and their families. Those services include free medical care, mental health counseling, parenting classes and academic tutoring, she said.
About 58% of the school’s 540 students speak primarily Spanish, according to Tuttle-Arriaga, and 99% qualify for free or reduced breakfast and lunch programs.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
