The Superior Court Celebrates 2025 Read Across Santa Clara County: Santa Clara County Judges Visit Bowers Elementary School

SAN JOSÉ, Calif. (March 12, 2025):  Continuing a tradition that spans over 15 years, judicial officers from the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, participated in Read Across Santa Clara County by visiting Bowers Elementary School in Santa Clara. This marks the first time the Court has had the opportunity to bring this program to this district, furthering its mission to foster positive interactions with students and introduce them to the values of justice, fairness, kindness, and active listening. 

Each year, the Court adopts an under-resourced school for this initiative, ensuring that students from different backgrounds have the opportunity to engage with judicial officers and gain early exposure to the judicial branch in a welcoming and educational setting. Bowers Elementary School, home to approximately 255 students, hosted the Court’s judicial officers as they read engaging stories to every classroom, encouraging a love for literacy and civic education. 

While Bowers Elementary is not a dual-language school, it serves a multilingual student population, with Spanish being one of the most common home languages. Recognizing the value of students’ linguistic backgrounds, the school prioritizes honoring and embracing their home languages and specifically requested bilingual readers for this special event. Judge Rebeca Esquivel-Pedroza incorporated both English and Spanish during her session with students to ensure everyone felt represented and engaged.

"Bowers Elementary School is a vibrant learning community serving students from infancy through 5th grade. Our student body is a diverse tapestry of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, forming a rich environment where students learn from and appreciate one another,” said Principal Adriana Reyes.  “We are excited to host Read Across SCC, celebrating the power of literacy to unite and inspire our community." 

Hon. Julia Alloggiamento, Chair of the Court’s Community Outreach Committee and Vice Lead of Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero's Power of Democracy Initiative, reflected on the event’s impact, "This event serves as the first step in the Court Outreach Committee's broad approach of connecting with students in our County by reaching our youngest students in Elementary School.  At Read Across SCC, students can see firsthand that our judicial officers not only reflect the communities in which they serve but embody the core values necessary to maintain confidence in our branch‒fairness, justice, professionalism, and kindness.  These students will be our future jurors, lawyers, leaders and judges.  It is important to expose them early to our branch and what it represents."

The Santa Clara County Superior Court remains committed to educational outreach, ensuring that students across Santa Clara County have the opportunity to engage with the judiciary in a positive and meaningful way. Plans are already underway to continue this tradition in 2026, with the selection of another school for next year’s Read Across Santa Clara County event.