6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 20-26, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com NEWS Thinking outside the box and turning dreams into tangible objects is one guiding principle for artist Mai Ryuno. Now, the artist and educator is combining her skills to create a microschool where high school students can apply what they learn in math, science or English into creative projects at Play Full Ground in Monterey, which Ryuno founded in 2017. “I wanted to create this place to be a community of learning. Not just so much academics like math or science, but those subjects are everywhere—things like cooking require some knowledge about science and math,” Ryuno says. The same, she adds, can be true for art. The number of microschools with fewer than five students in California doubled in the 2023-2024 school year compared to prepandemic numbers, reaching nearly 30,000 students, according to data from the California Department of Education. (Only one is currently registered in Monterey County.) Ryuno hopes to attract students who are interested in alternative private education, or who are homeschooled. Students will be enrolled in an asynchronous online school where they will learn the required curriculum. Ryuno will guide them to create topically related projects. Students will make projects from scratch. “We’re going to connect the knowledge to some real projects through the principles of art and design,” Ryuno says. She adds that creative thinking is a process that can be applied to any subject—engineering, chemistry, math, etc.—beyond what is conventionally understood as “art.” The school is expected to open in fall of 2025, with help from Kaipod Catalyst Program, for up to 10 students in grades 9-12. Creative Thinking Play Full Ground is set to open a creative microschool for high school students. By Celia Jiménez Approximately 2,500 Monterey County residents with Anthem Blue Cross HMO medical insurance got a shock earlier this month when they found out they will no longer have access to medical providers within the county as of March 1, about a month after Anthem announced it was terminating its relationship with Aspire Health Plan. Officials from both Aspire and Anthem confirmed the termination. Those Anthem customers are now being reassigned to providers in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties. The only exceptions are for people who are currently pregnant or undergoing treatment for serious illnesses like cancer. “That’s a lot of people who have to drive an hour or more to get health care,” says Judith Canner, who works at CSU Monterey Bay as chair of the Mathematics Department. She was recently informed that her new primary care physician will be located in Gilroy, a 50-minute drive from her home. “I had just finally been able to establish with a new [local] primary care provider,” she says. “I learned there are literally no doctors available [in Monterey County].” Tyler Munson, CEO of Aspire Health, said in a written statement that Aspire “provided a limited set of administrative services for this product,” since 2018. He cited “ongoing challenges in achieving long-term sustainability” leading to the termination by Anthem. A written statement from an Anthem spokesperson states that anyone impacted was notified in advance “ensuring a smooth transition to alternate participating medical groups,” and that members who are not matched to current providers are being matched to a participating medical group “near their home.” The statement said that all benefits to members remain unchanged. Canner’s insurance is made available through the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), which negotiates health insurance and retirement for state employees. Anthem Blue Cross, with Aspire administering the insurance, was one of her options during open enrollment last fall. Within days of the insurance taking effect on Jan. 1, Canner and others received a letter from Anthem dated Dec. 31 stating that it was ending its relationship with Aspire. “We understand the importance of maintaining the patient/doctor relationship,” the letter stated. “Every effort will be made to keep you assigned with your current primary care physician if he or she practices with another Anthem Blue Cross participating medical group. Otherwise, you will be assigned to a new participating primary care physician and medical group.” The rub for Monterey County Anthem customers through Aspire is that there are no other participating groups. (Aspire is a partnership between Montage Health and Salinas Valley Health to provide Medicare and HMO plans.) Canner was told by an Anthem representative that in an emergency she can go to a hospital in the county, but ongoing aftercare would have to be out of the county. CalPERS officials said the employees’ only recourse was to write a “letter of consideration” to the agency to ask for permission to change insurance plans. Aspire Health Plan has been administering an Anthem Blue Cross HMO plan in Monterey County since 2018. Anthem is ending the partnership, effective March 1. Access Denied Anthem ends relationship with Aspire Health, leaving 2,500 customers without local providers. By Pam Marino Mai Ryuno, who has experience teaching at Hartnell and Monterey Peninsula College, will launch an arts-oriented microschool for high school students in fall 2025 at Play Full Ground. “There are literally no doctors available.” DANIEL DREIFUSS DANIEL DREIFUSS
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