Río Hondo College’s Board of Trustees on Oct. 14 passed a resolution authorizing an election on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 to fill its open Trustee Area Seat 1. The seat became vacant in July when Norma Edith García stepped down.
Monrovia Unified School District’s Superintendent Dr. Katherine Thorossian joined state Sen. Susan Rubio, the U.S Forest Service, Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management and the American Red Cross during a Bobcat Fire Virtual Community Forum on Sept. 23. The forum briefed the Monrovia and Arcadia community about the status of the fire, the school district and its response plan, and an overview of evacuation preparedness.
Baldwin Park Unified alumna Emily Solano, a graduate from Baldwin Park High School and licensed social worker, is running a virtual workshop for students ages 13 to 16 who are interested in strengthening their relationships and gaining a deeper understanding of self. Project Elevate is a free program and safe space for students to learn better ways to communicate, recognize red flags in relationships and develop skills to foster strong connections.
El Monte Union high schools held virtual back to school nights, inviting students and parents to learn more about their campuses, teachers and distance learning. To enhance the virtual experience, El Monte High School and Mountain View High School created YouTube presentations with welcome messages from principals, teachers and the Associate Student Body. To view El Monte High School’s Back to School video, click HERE. For Mountain View High School’s video, click HERE.
Buena Park Learning Center Principal Mary Beckelheimer loves taking care of people – she exudes cheerfulness and positivity when connecting with parents, families and students to create a comfortable atmosphere wherever she goes. Her new role as principal for the Buena Park Learning Center, which includes the Buena Park Early Learning program and the recently launched Academy for Accelerated Learning, gives her the opportunity to build relationships with parents of young students and parents who want an additional level of safety in regard to COVID-19.
West Covina Unified’s signature academic offerings – including Mandarin and Spanish Dual Language Immersion programs, TK-12 IB continuum and its dual enrollment high school, Mt. SAC Early College Academy – have shifted to distance learning, ensuring students can continue to customize their learning experiences in 2020-21. The District’s robust programs afford students the opportunity to develop bilingualism and biliteracy, receive a globally focused education or gain college credit while they earn their high school diploma. Students interested in Dual Language Immersion or Mt. SAC Early College Academy may still apply for 2020-21 enrollment.
Fontana High School senior Fatima Kamara will serve as Fontana Unified’s 2020-21 Board of Education student representative. Since arriving from Sierra Leone three years ago, Kamara has embraced Fontana Unified’s learning opportunities and extracurriculars, maintaining a strong GPA and earning multiple Jerry Dison Awards, Student of the Month and Most Outstanding AVID Student. She has served as the student representative to Fontana High’s School Site Council, highlighting the academic and social needs of her peers; worked to establish a wellness center and meditation garden as part of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) team; and served as a peer mentor in Link Crew, helping incoming freshmen transition smoothly into high school. Kamara is also a member of the California Scholarship Federation, a 2019 junior honor attendant, and a regular volunteer at the Lewis Library and Technology Center.
El Monte Union High School District will continue its distance learning program for the remainder of the fall 2020 semester, but is exploring the possibility of developing learning groups (pods) on campus for students most in need, including those in special education programs and English learners. Under the learning pod program – which could begin as early as October – El Monte Union plans to establish small cohorts of no more than 12 students with two supervising adults per group. The District is also working on providing day care and academic support via its After School and Safety Program (ASES) program, LEARN.
Monrovia Unified School District closed its schools and dismissed students from online-learning on Sept. 17 and Sept. 18 due to growing concerns regarding the Bobcat fire and air quality. The dismissal of students is meant to give families some relief, as the dense smoke has caused disruption even inside homes. During this time, Monrovia Unified had to cancel its food distribution, but its local Flame Broiler stepped up to provide grab-and-go meals to students on Friday. Distance learning is set to resume Monday, Sept. 21.
Buena Park School District will continue to provide daily drive-thru meals to parents and students of the community. Meals will be distributed from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at Emery, Whitaker, Corey, Gilbert and Pendleton schools. The District will be strictly adhering to social distancing rules and all guests must wear masks when picking up their food.