Lynwood Unified School District plans to begin the fall 2020 semester with a distance learning model, following state and local guidance from public health officials. The District’s top priority is the health and wellness of students, staff and their community. More information can be found on the Lynwood Unified website.
Former Río Hondo College Superintendent/President Teresa Dreyfuss has stepped in to lead the College as its acting chief administrator starting July 30. Dreyfuss started at the College as a part-time faculty member in 1987 and rose through the ranks to become interim superintendent/president in 2012. She assumed the job permanently the following year. She is credited with overseeing $300 million in construction projects, opening three regional campuses and leading the College through the Great Recession. She also started a program that gave students free tuition for their first two years. She retired in June 2019.
Fontana Unified School District will extend its free weekly summer meal service through Wednesday, Aug. 19, providing meals to children ages 18 and under. Meals are available for pickup from 9 to 10:30 a.m. every Wednesday at 11 schools. For more information, including pickup locations, visit www.fusd.net.
West Covina Unified educators are preparing for a strong start to the 2020-21 year on Monday, Aug. 17 through a series of teacher trainings meant to enhance instructional strategies and ensure rigorous educational opportunities during state-mandated distance learning. Offered throughout the summer and in the week prior to the start of the school year, the trainings provide in-depth exploration of digital tools like Google Classroom and discuss instructional shifts that benefit students during distance learning, such as additional hands-on activities and student-led discussions.
West Covina Unified will celebrate the Class of 2020 with drive-thru ceremonies on Thursday, Aug. 13, providing families the opportunity to celebrate graduates while adhering to county health guidelines. Edgewood, West Covina and Coronado high schools will all begin their drive-thru celebrations at 9 a.m., with students arriving at staggered times based on their last names. Graduates will be required to wear face coverings and are limited to one vehicle each, which can be decorated.
Whittier Union rolled out the red carpet and gave over 2,700 members of the Class of 2020 the star treatment during one-of-a-kind drive-up graduations that saw students walk across grand stages on their campuses and collect diplomas as families, sounding air horns and holding custom big-head cutouts, cheered from decorated vehicles, limousines and party buses. Every day during the week of July 20, each Whittier Union campus hosted socially distanced graduation ceremonies that provided students and families safe venues in which to celebrate after traditional ceremonies were canceled due to public health restrictions.
Whittier Union High School District will begin the 2020-21 school year with a 100% distance learning schedule, converting the fall semester into a quarter system in which students will take three online classes in each of two nine-week periods starting Wednesday, Aug. 12. The Board of Trustees unanimously approved the 3x9 instructional model and launching the school year in Stage 1 of the District’s four-stage reopening plan during a July 28 virtual board meeting.
Longtime El Monte Union educator Gabriel Flores, an El Monte High School Class of 1992 graduate, has been selected to serve as Arroyo High School’s principal. Flores, who has spent his 22-year education career in El Monte Union, succeeds Angelita Gonzales, who retired in June.
Forty-eight El Monte City School District students explored life-saving techniques and constructed catapults and cars from July 20-24 during a Río Hondo College CTE Career Exploration Camp that meshed online classes with hands-on projects. Students learned first aid and CPR techniques and science, technology, engineering and math projects, such as building a catapult and a race car.
Through a variety of online intervention summer programs that include Camp Read-A-Lot, Camp Infinity and Middle School Bridge, Monrovia Unified is helping students meet grade level proficiency and reach greater academic goals. The programs, which conclude on July 31, include reading and math intervention courses for elementary, middle and high school students.