Alternative Family Education

03/08/2026

Dear AFE families and friends,

🎂🎁🎈🎉🥳
It is Dorothee's birthday on Monday 3/9!
(It is also her retirement from her second job at Bonny Doon Farms).
We all adore Dorothee and want to celebrate her as a community.
Join us for potluck food, games, and showering Dorothee with love on
Monday 3/9 12:30 pm- 3:00 pm at the AFE campus for those who can make it. Come by for some or all of that time if you can to say hello and wish Dorothee well.
Please bring a potluck item to share if you can. 🥙 Bring your own plates and utensils if possible. 🍴
(Dorothee food preferences: Mediterranean flavors, veg heavy, yay to beans, no rich sauces or cilantro, hold the spice, yay to belgum 60-79% chocolate, and minimal meat. But feel free to bring what makes you feel loved, as Dorothee will always find something at a potluck)

If you want to contribute towards a communal gift for her, please send money to Crissy Hansen (Venmo: ) . Indicate in the notes that it is for Dorothee's bday. 🪎

Feel free to bring your own cards/gifts if you feel inclined. She loves chocolate, plants, games/puzzles, and heartfelt words. 💝

Looking forward to celebrating our Dorothee with you all!

The AFE Staff

01/09/2024

We are sadly letting this community know that Ward Smith passed away recently from ALS. He was a very beloved teacher at AFE for many years and taught at other alternative education schools in Santa Cruz before that. He really loved teaching! He also was a founding member of The Surfrider Foundation, Surfer's Environmental Alliance, a major volunteer within the surfing community. He also was a founder of the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, a writer, a collector, good friend to many, a dedicated father to Maja and husband to Paula.

03/16/2023

Come and see our fashionistas! Friday the 24th at the Rio. No charge, bring your friends!

02/23/2023

02/17/2023

AFE Information Night

Location:
Alternative Family Education

Date:
3/16/23

Time:
6:30-8:00

Description:
Alternative Family Education (AFE) is a public Santa Cruz City Schools Alternative K-12 Homeschool program. Our credentialed Teacher Consultants are here to support you & your student(s) on your homeschooling journey. We are a vibrant community with an array of options for learning and playing together. Your family can choose to enrich your student's learning with our teacher-led classes in core subjects, student leadership opportunities, parent-led classes/events/field trips, Alternative Schools sports league, clubs and groups in a variety of interest areas, and concurrent enrollment in other schools and colleges. We are centrally located in Midtown on the Branciforte Small Schools campus. Childcare will be provided.

05/27/2022

Every year this bittersweet rite of passage - we are so proud of our graduates and will miss them so much!

05/18/2022

We LOVE our AFE community! Thank you for celebrating your teachers today!

04/27/2022

Looking forward to seeing so many AFE students' creations!

04/11/2022

Welcoming interested parents tomorrow night April 12th 6:30-8 pm on our campus! Come check us out!
questions email [email protected]

04/03/2022

After singing classical songs at many an AFE Talent Sharing, Mira Huang (class of 2015) is currently a master's student of voice at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She is thrilled to present her master's voice recital this Sunday, April 3rd, at 1:30pm today! Her program, titled "From Me to You," puts thirteen songs from different origins in dialogue with one another and features music from medieval to modern times. She would be honored if you stopped by to listen through the recital livestream link, found here: https://peabody.jhu.edu/event/student-recital-mira-huang/.