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Hacienda La Puente Unified Tech TOSA Named Adobe Creative Education Innovator

Hacienda La Puente Unified Technology Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) Ricardo Recinos has been named an Adobe Creative Educator (ACE) Innovator and will join a select group of K-12 educators worldwide who are using creativity to lead change in education as part of Adobe’s 2025-26 ACE cohort. Recinos has spent the last seven years as a Tech TOSA after nearly two decades teaching high school Spanish. As part of a Tech TOSA team with partner Teresa Magpayo-Castro, Recinos helps teachers to navigate platforms such as Aeries, Parent Square, and the Canvas Learning Management System, and supports student and parent technology education.

Fontana Unified to Expand Student Services by Uniting Award-Winning Continuation Schools

Fontana Unified School District (FUSD) will strengthen and broaden academic and support services for its continuation high school students as it merges its two Model Continuation High Schools, Citrus and Eric Birch, beginning in the 2025-26 school year. Both continuation schools will consolidate under the name Eric Birch High School, relocating to the former Citrus High site at 10760 Cypress Ave., and adopting the Citrus Jaguars mascot. The FUSD Board of Education approved the merger and an estimated $150,000 cost associated with renaming the Citrus campus to Eric Birch High School during its June 18 meeting. Fontana Unified’s continuation school instruction has been recognized by the California Department of Education (CDE) for its comprehensive excellence. Both Citrus and Eric Birch earned Model Continuation School designations from the CDE for their innovative approach to alternative education, with Citrus earning the three-year status in 2023 and Eric Birch securing recognition in 2024, which extends into the 2025-26 school year.

Fontana Unified Educator Selected as Finalist for California State Teacher of the Year Award

Live Oak Elementary School teacher Michelle Vazquez discovered her calling for teaching and advocacy at a young age, growing up in a family that ran a foster home for adults with special needs. Vazquez credits her childhood for teaching her the importance of dignity, patience, and creating spaces where everyone feels valued. It’s a lesson the Resource Specialist Program (RSP) teacher has carried with her throughout her 16-plus years in education. That dedication helped lead to her recognition as Live Oak Elementary and Fontana Unified School District’s (FUSD) 2024-25 Teacher of the Year, as well as one of the 2026 San Bernardino Countywide Teachers of the Year. With the county recognition, Vazquez is now a finalist for the 2026 California Department of Education Teacher of the Year award.

Hacienda La Puente Unified Tech TOSA Named Adobe Creative Education Innovator

Fontana Unified to Expand Student Services by Uniting Award-Winning Continuation Schools

Fontana Unified Educator Selected as Finalist for California State Teacher of the Year Award

Tuesday, August 5

Fontana Unified to Celebrate Renaming of O’Day Short Elementary School, Honor Family’s Legacy: Fontana Unified will host a renaming ceremony as Randall Pepper Elementary School officially transitions to O’Day Short Elementary in the 2025-26 school year, honoring the O’Day Short Family, which is remembered for breaking Fontana’s color barrier 80 years ago. District middle school student Cyrus Moss championed the renaming of O’Day Short Elementary. Moss submitted a petition with 132 signatures to rename Randall Pepper Elementary to the Fontana Unified Board of Education in March 2024. The Board unanimously voted to rename the school in September 2024 after all administrative regulations were met.

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