Ten Baldwin Park Unified Class of 2020 seniors gave shouts of joy and even shed a few tears as a District caravan of well-wishers, equipped with balloons and flowers, traveled through the city on May 15 to personally deliver the news that the students had received scholarships totaling $11,000. District leaders – including Superintendent Dr. Froilan N. Mendoza, Board of Education and Cabinet members, administrators and community leaders – wore masks and practiced social distancing as they surprised students at their homes, placing the decorations and a certificate on the lawns and porches of recipients.
Throughout the spring, 16 students in their first year of Río Hondo College’s Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN) program volunteered at the El Monte City Drive-through COVID-19 testing station, lending a hand to efforts to combat the health crisis that immobilized much of the world. Students began volunteering in April and continued throughout May, rotating through stations to work with nurses from Greater El Monte Community Hospital to instruct community members on testing, distribute testing materials, collect samples and educate patients.
As Whittier Union seniors approach the final days of their high school career, the District’s high schools are finding ways to safely recognize 2,800 members of the Class the 2020, their accomplishments over the last four years and their ability to persevere under the most unexpected circumstances. Following social distancing guidelines and facial covering requirements, each school meticulously in May organized grab-and-go opportunities to provide seniors their graduation packages, which included caps and gowns, medals and yard signs, which were sponsored by the Whittier Union High School District Educational Foundation. Virtual awards shows were also held to celebrate students.
Career Technical Educator Shelley Andros thrives on helping her students find their passions, saying that her profession is more of a calling in keeping with the maxim “Choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Her exemplary work ethic at Buena Park Junior High has earned her the title of 2021 Teacher of the Year award from the Orange County Department of Education. The award winners were announced virtually in May.
Monrovia High School seniors will turn their tassels and celebrate their many achievements during a drive-thru graduation ceremony at Monrovia High on June 3. The graduation plan, approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and the City of Monrovia, adheres to all of social distancing and public health guidelines established for Los Angeles County.
Río Hondo College has awarded $882,400 in grants to 2,205 students as part of a federal act designed to assist those whose studies have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants are funded by $3.1 million in federal CARES Act funding received by the College for direct student grants. The money is divided among a Río Cares Student Relief Fund, support for students with federal Work Study jobs and an Emergency Grant program.
Buena Park School District will offer a special program of online instructional materials, supplies and support to families who want their children to continue distance learning in 2020-21 even after schools are allowed to reopen. The Board of Education unanimously voted to create the Academy for Accelerated Learning at the Buena Park Learning Center on May 11. The academy has a July 1 launch date and was created to add an additional level of safety for the community in regard to COVID-19.
The El Monte Promise Foundation in collaboration with El Monte Union High School District has launched a donation campaign to raise $10,000 for graduation banners and signs recognizing El Monte Union’s Class of 2020. EMPF and EMUHSD are working in partnership with local cities – including Rosemead, El Monte and South El Monte – to support the display of banners throughout our communities that will recognize approximately 1,800 individual graduates from Mountain View, Arroyo, Rosemead, El Monte, South El Monte, and Fernando R. Ledesma high schools.
478 Buena Park Junior High students and their families cheered, fist-pumped and honked their car horns during two days of drive-thru promotion ceremonies, as they poured onto campus with vehicles adorned with balloons, colorful signs and creative decorations to commemorate the class of 2020. Guests toured the highly decorated grounds on May 20 and 21, when they were met with cheerful chalk messages, music and applauding teachers and administrators. Students and their families wore masks and followed social distancing rules to maintain safety.
El Monte City School District will celebrate the promotion of 975 eighth-graders in the Class of 2020 through a mix of lawn signs, banners and virtual ceremonies that will be streamed via YouTube from Tuesday, June 2 through Friday, June 5. In addition, the District will celebrate advancing sixth-graders through montage videos and kindergarteners through Google Class presentations
