Bonita Unified School District’s choir program has found the secret ingredient to success: cultivating a community of singers from elementary to high school, supported by passionate educators who nurture talent, and preparing students for professional opportunities on elite stages. This year, a record-breaking 24 choir students from Bonita Unified’s two comprehensive high schools were chosen for the Southern California Vocal Association’s (SCVA) Honor Choirs. Bonita High School choir students made history with 21 individuals named to the prestigious group – the most students selected from a single campus across eight counties.
Vanessa Salazar has become a cornerstone of Rosemead High School’s (RHS) community, known for her steadfast commitment to ensuring every student has access to essential resources and support while leveraging her skills as a mentor to foster a supportive environment where students are encouraged to be their true selves. In recognition of her dedication and impact on student success, Salazar was honored with the prestigious Bobby Salcedo Esperanza Award by the El Monte Promise Foundation. She received the award during the organization’s annual Tamalada Gala on Dec. 12, highlighting her exceptional contributions to the school community and the well-being of her students. Each year, the award is given to a staff member from neighboring districts who best exemplifies Salcedo’s commitment to education.
Summit High School’s Summer Bridge Program prepares incoming freshmen for the rigors of high school by reducing the anxiety that comes with attending a new school, which led to it winning the prestigious California School Boards Association (CSBA) Golden Bell Award. Five Fontana Unified School District (FUSD) programs have now won six CSBA Golden Bell Awards, which promote excellence in education and school board governance by recognizing outstanding school programs throughout California. District leaders received the award at CSBA’s 2024 Education Conference and Trade Show, which was held Dec. 5-7 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Amid a festive backdrop of Hawaiian shirts and colorful leis, the Bonita Unified School District community said a final aloha and farewell to longtime Board of Education member Glenn Creiman during a retirement ceremony on Dec. 11 at Lone Hill Middle School. Creiman’s 21-year tenure on the Board was defined by his unwavering desire to do what was right for Bonita Unified students. Creiman made a lasting impression on the District, which saw the four-time Board President as honest, kind, humble, and devoted, with a homespun civility that put people at ease. During Creiman’s years on the Board, he oversaw two bond measures that helped finance three new gymnasiums, the Bonita Center for the Arts, a new District office, and many other modernization projects. In his tenure, the District also improved its relationships with the cities of San Dimas and La Verne; achieved its highest-ever scores on state assessments and mitigated learning loss from the pandemic; expanded its career technical education offerings; and more.
Lynwood Unified School District celebrated a new chapter for the Lynwood High School Imperial Campus with the Dec. 12 groundbreaking for a state-of-the-art 175,000-square-foot classroom building. Set to open in fall 2027, the facility will offer modern resources, opportunities and enriching educational experiences for future Knights for generations to come. Donning hard hats and safety vests, future Lynwood High students and District officials grabbed their shovels and made the first dig into a mound of dirt at the construction site, marking the official start of the transformative project. The event – which included performances by the César Chávez Middle School Advanced Band and the Hosler Middle School Cheer team – featured inspiring remarks from District officials, honored guests and students who will be among the first to enter the renovated campus as freshmen.
Covina-Valley Unified School District has earned exceptional recognition in the 2024 U.S. News & World Report rankings, reaffirming the District’s reputation as a standout educational leader across the San Gabriel Valley. Barranca, Grovecenter, Manzanita, Mesa, Merwin, Rowland Avenue, and Workman Avenue elementary schools, and Las Palmas and Traweek middle schools were all ranked highly in California, gaining eligibility to display a U.S. News & World Report badge to highlight this achievement. This recognition reflects the District’s dedication to providing a high-quality education that prepares young learners to thrive in high school and beyond.
The El Monte Union High School District (EMUHSD) will honor the legacies of two brothers and a former EMUHSD Board of Trustees President after voting to rename the newly renovated Fernando R. Ledesma High School (FRLHS) multi-purpose building and gymnasium to the Freddy and Bernie Arteaga and Frank Ogaz Center. The Freddy and Bernie Arteaga and Frank Ogaz Center is the culmination of a shared vision that began decades ago. The Arteaga brothers, who immigrated from Mexico in the 1970s, met with Ogaz, a former EMUHSD Board President, and longtime administrator Fernando R. Ledesma to lay the groundwork for FRLHS, a high school that would go on to help at-promise youths overcome educational obstacles and put them on the path to becoming lifelong learners. Freddy and Bernie Arteaga have dedicated more than 30 years to Fernando R. Ledesma High School, starting when it was known as Valle Lindo Continuation School. Freddy, who spent 13 years as a teacher and counselor, has served as principal since 2006, while Bernie has been a counselor at the school for three decades. Valle Lindo was renamed in 2005 to honor Fernando R. Ledesma, who served the District for nearly 40 years.
San Dimas High School senior Alyssa Suarez has a dream of going to college and studying to be a civil engineer. Now in her fourth year of the college-prep elective Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), Suarez and her AVID cohort are in the final stages of college and career planning, brimming with confidence and ready to take on the challenges of post-secondary education. San Dimas’ AVID program is changing the academic trajectory for dozens of students who have embraced the elective, which provides fundamental skills to bolster their college readiness, emphasizes the importance of completing A-G admissions requirements for UC and Cal State schools, assists in researching potential colleges and filling out applications, and promotes college culture.
Fontana Unified School District will modernize Fontana Middle School’s nearly century-old campus with a phased construction project that aims to enhance campus safety by demolishing and replacing the school’s two-story L Building. Fontana Middle School’s L Building has been closed for the entire 2024-25 school year after being deemed unusable due to the presence of hazardous materials in May 2024. The first half of the school’s revitalization will begin with the removal of hazardous materials from the L Building during the District’s 2024-25 winter break. Demolition of the building will start during the 2025 spring break before its completion in summer 2025, along with enhancements to the school’s entrance.
La Serna High School freshman biology students took their first steps as marine biologists, with a deep dive through the San Pedro Channel and observing the Pacific Ocean ecosystem, through a unique, immersive multimedia experience brought to campus by the Natural History Museum’s (NHM) “An Ocean Experience” Mobile Museum program. Inside the mobile museum, meticulously transformed into the submersible DSV Sea Nettle to simulate a deep-sea expedition, students received a closer look at underwater species, including squids, sea turtles, sharks, shellfish, and myriad other obscure yet vital organisms that live in the ocean. Led by NHM educator Augie VanDeVeer, who posed as captain of the DSV Sea Nettle, the submersible set off in search of an “anomaly” – in this case, a blue whale carcass lying at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean – and discussed its ecological impact and the efficient way that ocean species use organic biodegradation to keep its ecosystem thriving and robust.
