Momentum Growing for Early Childhood Education in Santa Paula

Isabella Project Early Care Hub Location Selected Near Briggs Elementary School

SANTA PAULA, CA 5/19/25 – With the leadership of over 125 partners and input from hundreds of community members, the Isabella Project is excited to announce the location of a new early care hub, adjacent to undeveloped land on the Briggs Elementary School property in Santa Paula.

The mission of the Isabella Project is to ensure all children in Ventura County, starting in Santa Paula, have access to high-quality, full-time early care and education that meets their families’ needs. In Santa Paula, there are more than 2,000 children under age 5, but only 881 formal early learning spaces. The early care hub will create approximately 200 more spaces for early childhood education, serving children ages 0 to 5, and will include a variety of wrap-around services to better serve young children, families and childcare professionals.

“The Isabella Project was a direct response to community need,” said Dr. Gabino Aguirre, Isabella Project Co-Chair. “In Santa Paula, two-thirds of parents reported needing care for young children but not being able to access it. To meet this need, we knew we needed a comprehensive, systemic roadmap to guide the process and bring this vision to life. Finding the location for the hub was at the heart of the Isabella Project’s success.”

To approach this complicated problem, the Isabella Project has overseen the development of the Santa Paula Early Childhood Education Roadmap, a systemic, community-driven and data-informed strategy focused on the following:

1. Expanding access and affordability
2. Investing in workforce development and retention
3. Enhancing infrastructure
4. Engaging families and the community

“Studies show that by age 5, 90% of a child’s brain development is completed,” said Dr. Carlos Dominguez, Briggs School District Superintendent. “Therefore, having access to high-quality early childhood education helps prepare children so they enter school ready to learn, and ensures our students are equipped to be academically successful as well as thrive beyond the classroom.”

“The Isabella Project and the City of Santa Paula are both near and dear to me,” said Jack Hinojosa, Child Development Resources CEO and Isabella Project Co-Chair. “Attending school and growing up in Santa Paula and remembering my mom’s legacy as a cook (Master Chef) at Santa Paula Head Start Center for 38 years makes this all the more personal for me. Head Start programs lay the foundation for our children to have lifetimes of success by providing the lessons and support needed in the early years, and to partner closely with parents—children’s first teachers—showing them the importance of advocating and remaining involved as their children grow and learn. Parents are the cornerstone of Head Start, and the Isabella Project provides an excellent opportunity for us to show parents how important their voices are and that they matter.”

ABOUT THE ISABELLA PROJECT

The Isabella Project is a pilot project with the goal of ensuring all children in Santa Paula have access to high-quality, full-time early care and education that meets their families’ needs. First convened by the Ventura County Community Foundation in 2021, this group is now composed of over 125 community partners from across Ventura County and sectors ranging from higher education to childcare to mental healthcare and more. The project aims to be a model for creating a network of wrap-around care through pre-existing and new providers through the city that can be replicated in cities across the county. To learn more about the Isabella Project, please visit vccf.org/isabella-project.

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