El Monte High School freshman Elizabeth Gonzalez Canales was recognized with a full scholarship to the prestigious Ryman Arts Program, which will enable her to receive supplementary art instruction, enrichment, and support during the spring 2022 semester. Canales grew up watching her uncle create works of art, which ignited her passion and talent for the arts at an early age. In fifth grade, she began teaching herself how to draw, using the environment around her as inspiration.
Gordon H. Beatty Middle School English teacher Kelly Harris lives to motivate her students and strives to foster a lifelong love of literacy in them – ambitions that have earned her a place on Parenting OC’s Top 25 Teachers of 2022 list and the Teacher of the Year award at her school. Harris has taught English within the Buena Park School District for 23 years. She currently teaches English and Honors English to seventh graders, is the advisor for the school’s Chess Team and has held many leadership positions in various programs throughout the District.
Lynwood Unified High School students will have the opportunity to earn on-the-spot acceptance to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and get their college application fees waived when a caravan of college recruiters and admission counselors visit District campuses on Monday, Feb. 14. The Caravan will visit Lynwood High School, 12124 Bullis Rd, Lynwood, from 10 a.m. to noon, and Firebaugh High School, 5246 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Lynwood, from 1 to 3 p.m. The Lynwood Unified Equity Department has worked with seniors to ensure they have prepared transcripts and test scores for the caravan.
Lynwood Unified Board of Education members joined Congresswoman Nanette Barragán and District personnel for a walkthrough of the Lynwood Imperial campus, formerly Lynwood High School, on Feb. 15. The walkthrough with Barragán aimed to raise awareness of the finances required to move forward with the necessary repairs to ensure the campus is a safe learning environment for future students. The District has taken steps to raise awareness regarding the need for repairs on the campus, reaching out to community leaders and elected officials to receive more support.
The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District Board of Education adopted map scenario two during its Board meeting on Feb. 10, a process that included extensive community input and demographic analysis of the proposed map scenarios. The District will provide this executed resolution, approved scenario map and electronic files to the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization and the Los Angeles County Registrar to implement the authorized trustee area boundary adjustments not later than Feb. 28.
Buena Park School District celebrated National School Counseling Week, recognizing the impact counselors have on academic and personal success, and expanding its counseling services to provide additional resources and support to students and families. Since the start of 2021-22 school year, the District has augmented its counseling services, employing an on-site counselor at each of its schools to ensure students are healthy in their bodies and minds.
South Hills High School has named Jacob Calderon as their next head football coach, an alumnus who brings years of experience and success as both a player and a coach to his new position. Calderon returns to South Hills following coaching stints at Chaffey College, El Monte High School and most recently, Bishop Amat Memorial High School.
The El Monte Union High School District Board of Trustees adopted a resolution to recognize Lunar New Year across campuses during a Feb. 2 Board meeting, an initiative that honors the diversity of the EMUHSD community and celebrates the history and traditions of Asian communities around the world. El Monte Union students, faculty and staff celebrated the 2022 Lunar New Year, known as Year of the Tiger, with special festivities held at El Monte High School and Rosemead High School that were organized by Associated Student Body (ASB) members.
Bonita Unified School District recognized the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station, Incycle and the Southern California Velo Cycling Club (SCVelo) at their Board of Education meeting on Feb. 2, celebrating their generous donation of bicycles, helmets and toys to students during the holiday season. Incycle and SCVelo donated bicycles to the sheriff’s station, which then coordinated with the District to identify students in need. In total, 73 bicycles and helmets were distributed to Bonita Unified students and their siblings in December.
Fontana High School Class of 2015 graduate Carlos Galván remembers the day his Advanced Placement Chemistry teacher, Nina Rodriguez, told him he should consider attending a university and majoring in chemistry. For Galván, this was the first time his work was singled out for praise, motivating him to push himself to achieve at a high academic level. Today, Galván is a doctoral candidate in the UCLA Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Doctoral Program (MBIDP) and a UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center trainee, conducting research on skin cancer. As a first-generation college student, Galván is following a tradition of hard work and dedication rooted in his family, which has resided in Fontana for generations.
