Río Hondo College’s Student Success and Dream Center will host a Virtual Undocumented Student Week of Action from Monday, Oct. 19 to Friday, Oct. 23 that carries the theme of “Dream to Believe.” This is the fourth annual celebration of the week, which is designed to build connections within the community of undocumented students, strengthen connections with the greater college community and advocate for community and government support.
ío Hondo College has been ranked the 15th best college in the nation overall for serving Hispanic students and third for awarding Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Degrees by Hispanic Outlook on Education magazine. The rankings, announced on Oct. 12, mark Río Hondo College’s latest appearance in the list of Top 100 Colleges and Universities for Hispanics, which is published annually by Hispanic Outlook on Education. The list charts the national progress of Hispanics in higher education and recognizes institutions committed to serving Hispanics’ educational needs.
West Covina Unified High School Spotlights Student-Athletes
West Covina High School is celebrating its student-athletes amid distance learning and postponed athletic seasons with a series of social media posts, dubbed #WCHSTeammateTuesday. Each week, West Covina High School features a different student-athlete, sharing in their own words what they love about their sport.
Fontana Unified Recognizes National Bullying Prevention Month
Fontana Unified School District is recognizing National Bullying Prevention Month in October, providing resources to help families and students identify, report and prevent bullying and cyberbullying. Students at Jurupa Hills High School also showed their support for the cause by wearing blue in support of World Day of Bullying Prevention, recognized on Oct. 5.
West Covina High School Boasts 51 Advanced Placement Scholars
West Covina High School produced 51 AP Scholars in 2019-20, underscoring the school’s college-readiness efforts and commitment to academic excellence. The AP Scholar designation is awarded to high school students who have demonstrated outstanding college-level achievement through their performance on multiple AP exams. Of the 51 juniors and seniors, 14 were named AP Scholars with Distinction; to be eligible, students must receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken, as well as scores of 3 or higher on five or more AP exams. West Covina High School is the District’s AP flagship school, offering an array of college-prep courses that include music theory, Mandarin and computer science.
West Covina Honors Commended Students in Nat’l Merit Scholar Program
Edgewood High School students Ethan Lee and Harris Thai have been named Commended Students in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program. The recognition recognizes students’ exceptional academic promise, demonstrated by their outstanding performance in the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Two-thirds of the approximately 50,000 high scorers on the test from across the nation are designated as Commended Students
Baldwin Park Unified Music Teachers Guide Students with 1-on-1 Lessons
Baldwin Park Unified's music teachers from middle school to high school are putting in countless hours to support students, with virtual one-on-one lessons, class check-ins and increased support services. Sierra Vista High School's choral music director and piano studies instructor Suzanne Brookey and piano tutor Kevin Phan helped students hone their skills during distance learning, preparing them for a virtual piano recital.
El Monte Union Farm Lab Provides Template for Sustainability
Arroyo High School’s Farm Lab, developed through a partnership with EcoUrban Gardens and the City of Hope, provides a template for sustainability that can help transform urban food deserts into rich sources of nutrition and biodiversity, while opening doors for students eager to pursue careers in biology, environmental science and urban agriculture. The Farm Lab includes an organic garden, fruit orchard, eco-lab, butterfly garden, compost area, bioswale, hügelkultur and regenerative learning center. Produce picked from the garden has been made available to the Arroyo community during weekly drive-through meal services. A video showcasing the benefits on the Farm Lab is available on YouTube.
Twelve Whittier Union parents celebrated their graduation from a District mentoring program on Oct. 14 by presenting videos demonstrating how they will teach parents to find online school resources, monitor grades and strengthen children’s social-emotional well-being. The virtual graduation ceremony, held largely in Spanish to reflect the first language of many Whittier Union families, marked the District’s culmination of this fall’s Parent Mentor training. The program is committed to closing the gap for students in the English learner program and supporting Spanish-speaking parents.
Baldwin Park Unified Dual Language Program to Create Community Altar
Sierra Vista High School’s Dual Language Program is commemorating community members and loved ones who passed due to COVID-19 by creating a Día de los Muertos altar in their memory. The school reached out to the BPUSD community through online channels to collect submissions. District and school community members were asked to submit a photograph, a brief description and a few objects that best represent the individual. The altar will be in front of the school through Tuesday, Nov. 3.
