Bel Aire school will scale back partnership with diversity camp

Bel Aire Elementary School will continue its long-standing partnership with The Mosaic Project overnight camp next year, though participation will be limited to about 30 fourth-grade students instead of being open to any fourth grader who wants to go.

The Feb. 10 directive from the Reed Union School District board to maintain a scaled-down partnership with the weeklong diversity camp came after staff recommended eliminating participation in the program entirely beginning in the 2026-2027 school year. Staff has proposed replacing the camp with a campus-wide, yearlong social-emotional learning program that would include expanded counseling services, a wellness week event, service-learning opportunities and more.

Board members said they supported the model being developed by staff but were reluctant to fully eliminate participation in The Mosaic Project given positive feedback from families whose kids have attended in the past. The staff plan didn’t appear to offer an equivalent experience to the camp, which brings kids from varied backgrounds together in Felton, about seven miles north of Santa Cruz, to learn about diversity, empathy and conflict resolution, they said.

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