VACAVILLE, Calif.  – Students at a Vacaville school are exercising their right to protest for something they feel passionate about.

At Sierra Vista K-8 located along Bel Air Drive, students felt lunchtime wasn’t the same. Something was missing from their menu.

“When we walked in, I was like, ‘What the heck — where is it at?'” asked sixth-grader Wesson Markowski.

Inside Mrs. Doss’ fourth-grade class, students were thinking outside the box to make their plea. Jordan Reed, whose anger was spilling over because of the missing lunch item, went the extra mile by making signs for all of his classmates the night before.

What are the signs for? For the students to mobilize and send a message on Friday to the grown-ups in charge.

“The people who are going to be negotiating with me, I’m probably going to put them on the spot,” Reed said.

Shoulder-to-shoulder, step-by-step, students left class to rally out front of the school. There, they held their signs up and chanted.

All of this was to protest for the return of their beloved beverage: chocolate milk.

Older students like Markowski reflected on the delicious drink’s popularity.

“Back when had chocolate milk when I was in fourth grade, you’d be lucky to get a spot for chocolate milk, because it would all be gone,” Markowski said.

The chants for chocolate cheers did not fall on deaf ears.

Juan Cordon, director of the school district’s nutrition department, heard the kids and explained that the decision to remove the chocolate milk was because of its sugar content. However, the two parties were able to strike up a deal.

The school will now provide chocolate milk one day every other week.

“For now, this is a really good start,” Markowski said in response to the agreement.

The NEA Foundation has three grant opportunities open to members that fund a year of learning:

• Student Success; grants of $1,500 or $5,000 fund project-based and deeper student learning;
• Learning & Leadership; grants between $1,500 and $5,000 fund individual or group professional development and collegial study;
• Envision Equity grants between $1,500 and $5,000 let educators test new ideas and innovations, and help advance students’ cultural understanding and appreciation, anti-racism commitments, and understanding of civic engagement and democracy.

The deadline to apply for the Spring 2022 round has been extended to February 25. Learn more and apply here.

ScholarShare, California’s official college savings plan, is offering a grant of up to $225 for families who open a college savings account and contribute to it regularly. The Matching Grant Program , which launched this month and runs through the end of 2022, is designed to help low- to moderate-income families save for their children’s college expenses. It provides a dollar-for-dollar match for contributions to a new ScholarShare 529 account up to $200, and also offers a $25 bonus for establishing automatic recurring contributions.

The expanded California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), the Young Child Tax Credit and the federal EITC can combine to put hundreds or even thousands of extra dollars in your pocket.

If you have low income and work, you may qualify for CalEITC; if you qualify and have a child under age 6, you may also qualify for the Young Child Tax Credit. Find information about both, including a tool to calculate what you would receive, click here. For information about the federal EITC, go to irs.gov/eitc.