Community of Support
SBCCD Belonging & Wellbeing
We All Belong Here
Example sub text description
SBCCD has the mission to positively impact the lives and careers of our students,
the well-being of their families, and the prosperity of our community through excellence
in educational and training opportunities.
SBBCD's Belonging & Wellness supports this mission through implementing comprehensive
strategies and efforts to create a safe and inclusive environment for all. Belonging
& Wellness seeks to advance our people and community with enriching experiences and
opportunities that will drive a better future where everyone belongs.
Thank you for taking part in advancing our mission and values.
Commitments
SBCCD is committed to cultivating an inclusive, respectful, and equitable workplace
where every employee feels welcomed, valued, and empowered to contribute fully. We
recognize that diversity in backgrounds, perspectives, identities, and experiences
strengthens our community and enriches our mission as an institution of higher education.
We are dedicated to building a work environment that actively challenges bias, eliminates
barriers, and promotes fairness and belonging for all. Through intentional practices,
ongoing education, and open dialogue, we strive to ensure that inclusion is not just
a value—but a lived experience for every member of our community.
SBCCD is committed to fostering a workplace culture that prioritizes the holistic
wellbeing of our employees. We recognize that the health, satisfaction, and engagement
of our faculty and staff are essential to the success of our institution and the students
we serve. We strive to create an environment that supports physical, emotional, social,
financial, and intellectual wellbeing through inclusive policies, accessible resources,
and a culture of respect and belonging. Our commitment is to listen, respond, and
continuously improve so that every employee feels valued, supported, and empowered
to thrive, both professionally and personally
SBCCD is committed to embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into all institutional
structures and efforts. We strive to be in a constant state of analysis, creating
and maintaining a campus climate that supports the empowerment of all stakeholders.
While our district vision is singular, we celebrate that our community is multifaceted
and provides the many lenses necessary to create local solutions to global problems.
Definitions
The myriad of ways in which people differ, including the psychological, physical,
cognitive, and social differences that occur among all individuals, such as race,
ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, religion, economic class, education,
age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, mental and physical ability, and
learning styles. Diversity is all inclusive and supportive of the proposition that
everyone and every group should be valued. It is about understanding these differences
and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions
of our differences.
Equity rebalances power to include groups that experience inequality and promotes
a spirit of healing, justice, and reconciliation.
Inclusion means actively embracing and leveraging diversity to foster a sense of belonging,
removing systemic barriers, and ensuring equitable access to opportunities, resources,
and decision-making processes. Students, employees, and guests of all backgrounds
thrive when they feel welcomed, respected, and valued by our college district. We
promote a sense of community by pursuing equity-minded policies and practices, and
by facilitating social and intellectual exchange among people of diverse races, genders,
ages, sexual orientations, cultures, political affiliations, socioeconomic status,
religions, and physical abilities.
A holistic state of physical, emotional, social, financial, and intellectual health
that enables employees to thrive both at work and in their personal lives. It reflects
the balance and fulfillment individuals experience when they are supported in meeting
their personal needs, achieving their goals, and maintaining a healthy quality of
life.
Featured Community Spotlight
09/08/2025
Chloe de los Reyes
Associate Professor and Multilingual Faculty Lead, English Department, CHC
To carry out this vision, we have formed a learning community composed of faculty
across the curriculum, counselors, and staff. This group will be tasked with developing
curricula–from scratch–that are rigorous, culturally responsive, and attuned to the
linguistic and academic needs of our students. Framing this work as a learning community
ensures that those working with multilingual students are not just creating content
but also engaging in ongoing reflection and professional development. The learning
community, by extension, also helps build capacity by expanding expertise and cultivating
shared pedagogy. Working across campus can also further increase stakeholder buy-in.
We have also partnered with Dr. Lyn Westergard and Quality Teaching for English Learners
(QTEL) to ensure that our curricula are theoretical and pedagogically sound.
The Faculty Learning Community cohort includes:
● Emilia Farago-Spencer, English
● Andrew Guevara, English
● Herberth Jaco, Outreach and Educational Partnerships
● Jasmine Ojeda, Computer Information Systems
● Jillian Robertson, Math
● Xochilt Trujillo-Flores, English
● Isidro Zepeda, English
For self-identifying multilingual educators like myself, the stakes of developing
a multilingual program are enormous. They are magnified by a desire to create the
kind of program that students like us didn’t have but deeply deserve: programs that
support multilingual literacies, promote language diversity, honor linguistic identities,
and equally importantly–center care. My first-hand experiences and identity shape
every decision I make, and this labor of care is not merely a professional task; it
is a deeply personal (and political!) investment in the communities I come from and
serve. Yes, I’m happy to help the district support our multilingual learners.
I would like to thank Drs. Jeff Smith, Sara Butler, and Keith Wurtz. Dr.Jeff Smith
has been instrumental in both acquiring and stewarding the grant as well as ensuring
that the learning community is running smoothly; Dr. Sara Butler has been a wonderful
thought partner and strong support of our students, instructors, and the Multilingual
Program as whole; Dr. Keith Wurtz has been essential in keeping the program running.
I’m grateful to Alyssa Taylor for her help in navigating the district processes. I
also would like to thank Alex Jaco, Dr. Westergard, themembers of the Multilingual
Task Force, and the faculty learning community–all of whom ensure that we keep our
students at the heart of our decisions. Lastly, I really appreciate the English Department
for their ongoing support of this work.