Whittier Adult School ESL Program Prepares Students for Careers
The Whittier Union Adult School has eliminated barriers to success for its English as a Second Language (ESL) students and received the California Adult Education Program’s Model Program Award of Distinction for its innovation and preparation of ESL students for lifelong careers. Over the past couple of years, the Adult School restructured its ESL program to focus on job readiness and occupational skills rather than solely teaching language. One goal was to increase ESL students’ involvement in career technical education courses and create pathways that were more aligned with the schedules and interests of ESL students.
El Monte Union’s Annual Choral Festival Showcases District Singers
Arroyo High School hosted its 19th Annual Invitational Choral Festival on March 28, where 23 choirs from El Monte, including all El Monte City School District choirs, performed individual songs, concluding the festival with a joint performance featuring all the student performers. The festival also showcased choirs from Arroyo High School, including A Capella Choir, Chamber Singers, Treble Choir and Glee Chorus led by choral director Jennifer Stanley.
Covina-Valley Unified School District’s exemplary reading program ranked highly in the California Reading Coalition California Reading Report Card, which was released on March 23. Out of 285 of the most populous school districts in the state, C-VUSD ranked fifth in the state and third in Los Angeles County. Covina-Valley Unified earned its ranking for its strong number of high-need students that met or exceeded grade-level standards on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress and English language arts testing in 2021-22.
Bonita High School senior Jeremiah Weetly came to his AP Computer Science class on March 27 and took a seat at his desk, having no idea that his life would change dramatically by the time the dismissal bell rang. In front of his classmates and mom, Weetly was named a 2023 Edison STEM Scholarship winner and was presented with a check for $50,000 from Edison International, money that will help Weetly attend his dream college and study electrical and computer engineering. Weetly is one of just 30 students across Southern California to win the scholarship this year, as well as the first student at Bonita High to ever be named an Edison Scholar.
Lynwood Unified Hosts 5K Race to Benefit Education Foundation
Lynwood Unified School District and the Lynwood Partners Education Foundation (LPEF) will host their annual 5K/10K Run at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 13 at Lynwood City Hall. All proceeds will go towards supporting the LPEF, which has brought significant funds and resources to Lynwood schools for over a decade. To register for the event, visit www.TheLynwoodRun.com. Lynwood City Hall is located at 11330 Bullis Rd., Lynwood.
Cheered on by a full house of teachers, staff and families, nearly 100 Bonita Unified students were honored with a moment in the spotlight – for achievements that often go unrecognized – during the 2022-23 La Verne/San Dimas Educational Foundation (LVSDEF) Awards. Held March 13 at the Bonita Center for the Arts, the awards ceremony is one of the foundation’s signature annual events. Founded in 1983, LVSDEF aims to enhance educational opportunities for students within Bonita Unified. Through various fundraisers and sponsorships, the foundation also awards teacher mini-grants every year to support classroom projects, donates funds to each school’s arts programs and more.
Whittier Union High School District’s Pioneer High School will host an “Every 15 Minutes” program, a two-day event featuring a simulated car crash, rescue efforts and the dramatized deaths of students. The program also consists of a mock funeral that aims to emphasize the dangers of operating a vehicle while under the influence. “Every 15 Minutes” is a national campaign which focuses on high school juniors and seniors and aims to challenge students to think about the dangers of drunken driving. The two-day program will take place at 11 a.m. on Monday, April 3 and Tuesday, April 4 at Pioneer High School, 10800 Benavon St., Whittier.
The Lynwood community got a dose of “hocus pocus” and sleight-of-hand trickery while helping raise funds for scholars during a live magic show held at the Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School auditorium, marking the return of the Lynwood Partners Educational Foundation (LPEF) annual fundraiser on March 17. The fundraiser – held in person for the first time in three years – brought in close to $23,000 to help pay for LPEF student scholarships and project grants.
When Kaiser High School senior Matthew Basilio was in middle school, he was asked to make a tough choice: to continue to play the clarinet, which he had studied since elementary school, or take up the bass clarinet. Basilio’s decision to switch instruments catapulted him into the upper stratosphere of music performers. This year, Basilio was selected to perform with the California Band Directors Association All-State High School Honor Concert Band – becoming the first Kaiser High musician in school history to earn the honor, which included being named first chair bass clarinetist.
Jurupa Hills High School TV Production students Kira Flores and Eddie Lopez rose early every Saturday for months so that they could film students participating in the Fontana Leadership Intervention Program (FLIP), a 16-week enrichment camp for at-promise teenagers. Originally looking to provide a short video for a FLIP graduation ceremony, Flores and Lopez realized they had enough compelling footage to produce a standalone documentary, “FLIP,” that tracks the personal journey of several FLIP students as they learn life skills through the program. “FLIP” was one of three Spartan TV Production videos to be screened at the San Bernardino Valley College 2023 International Student Film Festival in early March, and received four award nominations.
