Community members are noticing how El Monte City School District campuses – despite the absence of students during the extended dismissal – continue to beautify their neighborhoods with well-groomed fields, tidy exteriors and clean facilities. That’s because with students learning remotely, District maintenance crews have jumped at the chance to intensify their cleaning, groundskeeping and repair work often delayed until summer. The team also is assisting with grab-and-go meal distribution and even delivering meals to select students whose medical challenges make it difficult for them to pick up meals.
El Monte City School District is launching online enrollment for the 2020-21 school year, providing a simple and accessible registration process to families interested in the District’s robust TK-8 learning opportunities. Parents may begin enrollment by visiting www.emcsd.org/enrollment and clicking on one of three links – transitional kindergarten, kindergarten or grades 1-8 (for new students only) – to access and fill out registration forms.
El Monte City School District’s Nutrition Services team will be wearing 3-D printed face shields as they feed about 5,100 children each day thanks to a donation from a team at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The District received 50 of the shields after Central Kitchen and Catering Manager Liz Estavillo Valdez heard Center for Innovation in STEM Education (CISE) Director Kamal Hamdan on an April 15 radio show describing his team’s efforts to provide shields to frontline workers.
Two Baldwin Park Unified student chefs are a step closer to realizing their dreams of becoming culinary artists or restaurant entrepreneurs after receiving Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) scholarships totaling nearly $40,000. Baldwin Park High senior Simon Luong won a full-tuition scholarship to the prestigious Institute of Culinary Education in Pasadena worth more than $30,000, while Sierra Vista High senior Angela Chandara received three cash scholarships totaling $4,000 to go toward the post-secondary culinary program of her choice.
Arroyo High School senior student Kelli Doan learned the basics of cooking while helping her mother prep a week’s worth of family meals on Sundays. When Doan discovered she could expand her skills by taking culinary arts classes at Arroyo, she eagerly enrolled. She never dreamed it would lead her down the road to becoming a master chef. Doan was recently awarded a $125,000 scholarship through the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America New York campus, where she will pursue a bachelor’s degree in culinary science.
As Whittier Union schools prepare students to take their Advanced Placement exams for the first time ever from home and online – a challenging feat for any student – Pioneer High School teachers and staff showed their support by holding a drive-thru pep rally on May 6. While observing social distancing and wearing protective masks, Pioneer administrators and AP teachers banded together to provide 150 students who are poised to take their AP exams, which begin Monday and continue through May 22, with “survival kits” containing supplies and snacks.
Maddie Martinez wasn’t sure how she would continue to support her family of five. She had lost her job due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was living perilously off of her savings. Making matters worse, Martinez battles a chronic autoimmune condition that makes her particularly vulnerable to illness. That’s when she happened to see a social media post by Lynwood Unified’s Audrey Casas offering help to anyone in need during these trying times. Within days, District staff member Jeff Ballinger, a longtime philanthropist in the community, showed up to her door with bags of food and an excess of love and support.
The Bonita Unified School District Board of Education on May 6 appointed Krista Chakmak – a parent, school volunteer, Save the Heartbeat Foundation volunteer and member of the City of La Verne Youth and Family Action Committee – as its newest member. Chakmak, who will serve the seven months remaining in the term of retired member Matthew Lyons, was chosen unanimously from among four candidates interviewed by the board.
El Monte City School District is distributing more than 4,000 Chromebooks and close to 1,400 Wi-Fi hotspots to students and their families as part of a Distance Learning program launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. District leaders determined need for the digital tools through an extensive survey of community members; tools have been distributed over several weeks.
The Bonita Unified School District Board of Education on May 6 appointed Krista Chakmak – a parent, school volunteer, Save the Heartbeat Foundation volunteer and member of the City of La Verne Youth and Family Action Committee – as its newest member. Chakmak, who will serve the seven months remaining in the term of retired member Matthew Lyons, was chosen unanimously from among four candidates interviewed by the board.
