El Camino Junior High School in Santa Maria was under scrutiny last year after students, parents and teachers publicly raised concerns about violence and safety on campus, saying frequent fights and disruptions were interfering with learning.
Administrators promised changes, and now, a year later, teachers say they’re seeing a noticeable shift.
KSBY News returned to El Camino Junior High to follow up with staff and school leaders to better understand what has changed, what challenges remain, and how those changes are affecting students' day-to-day lives.
Science and leadership teacher Allie Vellema, who has been at the school for four years, said the campus environment feels far more predictable than it did earlier in her career.
“These past two years with new administration, it has been significantly more structured,” Vellema said. “Students know what the expectations are. There are positive reinforcements.”
Teachers say that clarity around expectations has helped reduce classroom disruptions and made it easier for students to focus on learning.
For Christina Blanco, a family and consumer science teacher, the difference appears most clearly in student morale.
“They didn’t like coming to school, whereas now the kids are so excited because there’s all these activities going on,” Blanco said.
Both teachers described a very different atmosphere just a few years ago, one where safety concerns often overshadowed instruction.
“Four years ago, three years ago, it was pretty common to have fights around campus and overall, just have students feel unsafe being at school,” Vellema said.
In response to those concerns, administrators say they implemented a combination of clearer rules, more consistent consequences, restorative practices, and an increased emphasis on building positive school culture.
Principal Alex Jauregui said part of that work has included bringing in outside support to help staff address student behavior in a more effective and consistent way.
“We have an outside consultant that’s working with a group of our teachers to make sure that if there are specific behaviors that are happening in or outside of the classroom, that we’re really getting to the root cause and not being super punitive,” Jauregui said.
While staff say on-campus conditions have improved, Jauregui noted that many conflicts begin off campus, often fueled by social media, before carrying over into school time.
He said the school is working to address that by encouraging families to communicate early and involve authorities when needed.
“One thing that we try to encourage our families is that if they see that their kids are getting into any type of altercations off campus, is to notify the police department,” Jauregui said.
According to the Santa Maria Police Department, officers responded to 114 calls for service involving El Camino Junior High in 2024. So far in 2025, police report 68 calls for service connected to the campus.
Jauregui also pointed to a strict no-cell-phone policy during the school day as another change that has helped reduce distractions and conflicts.
“If there is an emergency, they can communicate with their teacher, they can come to the front office,” Jauregui said. “But it is out of sight, out of mind the entire day, and that is keeping them focused on what matters when they’re at school.”
Vellema recalled a former student who returned to campus after starting high school and reflected on how his experience at El Camino had shaped him.
“He came back and he was like, ‘Wow, I have changed. You guys have helped me out so much,'” she said.
Vellema said she still thinks about that moment, seeing it as a reminder of why the changes matter, not just in the moment, but long after students leave campus.
Teachers and administrators acknowledge there is still work to do, but they say maintaining progress will depend on continued collaboration between families, staff and the broader community.
