Cedarlane Academy, Fairgrove Academy, Mesa Robles School, and Valinda School of Academics have been named 2024 Schools to Watch by the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California League of Educators, recognizing their continued success in keeping students engaged through a critical stage in their K-12 educational journey, demonstrating social equity and helping them achieve academic excellence. The four campuses are among 16 schools to be newly designated as Schools to Watch and will be honored alongside 36 re-designated model schools at the annual California League of Schools Conference held March 8-9 in Monterey.
10 Bonita Unified Students Named to Regional Junior High Honor Choir
Four Lone Hill Middle School students were selected to perform with the Southern California Vocal Association (SCVA) Junior High Honor Choir, a prestigious group that consists of students in grades six to nine selected by audition. This year’s Lone Hill honorees – Cristian Figueroa, Julian Gonzalez, Layla Lopez, and Rachel Wu – mark the largest group of Lone Hill students selected in a year. Six Bonita High School freshmen were also selected to perform in the SCVA Junior High Honor Choir this year: Harper Gaudart, Serenity Ng, Kennedy Salazar Nieves, Allison Shutts, Ava Sierra, and Bailey Zylstra. In total, 20 Bonita Unified students, from grades six to 12, were selected for SCVA Honor Choirs this school year. The SCVA Junior High Honor Choir will perform on May 4 at Portola High School in Irvine.
Hacienda La Puente Unified Middle Schools Cited as Schools to Watch
Cedarlane Academy, Fairgrove Academy, Mesa Robles School, and Valinda School of Academics have been named 2024 Schools to Watch by the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California League of Educators, recognizing their continued success in keeping students engaged through a critical stage in their K-12 educational journey, demonstrating social equity, and helping them achieve academic excellence. The four campuses are among 16 schools to be newly designated as Schools to Watch and will be honored alongside 36 re-designated model schools at the annual California League of Schools Conference held March 8-9 in Monterey.
Bonita Unified School District will be represented at the National ProStart Invitational for the second year in a row, following Bonita High School’s success at the California ProStart Cup, held Feb. 21 and 22. Bonita High School’s culinary team “Chicks” punched their ticket to nationals after winning first place in the Culinary Cup at the state contest. San Dimas High School students also excelled at the ProStart Cup; students Gabriel Costa and Austin Garcia took first and third, respectively, in the “Dress Your Dog” competition and senior Christina Jones took first place in the Loaded Idaho Potato competition – both of which tasked competitors with creating inventive toppings for their respective items. Bonita High School’s culinary team will represent California at the National ProStart Invitational, held April 26 to 28 in Baltimore. San Dimas High School’s ProStart team placed third in the restaurant management contest at the national competition in 2023.
Bonita Unified Alum, Grammy Winner to Perform with BUSD Students
Bonita High School alumnus and Grammy Award-winning jazz composer Gordon Goodwin will return to support his high school music program – which helped launch his prolific music career – when he performs with his Big Phat Band at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 16 at the Bonita Center for the Arts. During the concert – which will benefit the San Dimas and La Verne Band Boosters – Goodwin will perform a set as a guest artist with Bonita Unified’s All-District Jazz Ensemble, featuring performers from Bonita and San Dimas high schools, before he takes the stage for a full concert with his band. The concert will also feature a tribute to the late Robin Snyder, the former Bonita High band director credited with introducing jazz into high school music education and inspiring Gordon to pursue a career in music. To purchase tickets, visit bonitacenterforthearts.com. The Bonita Center for the Arts is located at 822 W. Covina Blvd., San Dimas.
After months of planning, Fontana Unified has launched esports teams at Fontana and Summit high schools for the 2024 seasons operating under the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Esports Initiative. The CIF Esports Initiative aims to connect video gameplay and competition to educational opportunities to make high school esports a place where students prepare for global career opportunities as well as competition. Esports is also creating stronger connections at each school site in Fontana Unified, with 33 students currently rostered on Fontana Unified’s two esports teams.
Students, staff, families, community members, and dignitaries gathered at Covina High School on Feb. 26 to celebrate the groundbreaking of the school’s new Aquatics Center – a project multiple years in the making. The project will replace the current 1950s-era pool and upgrade the aquatics facilities, ensuring students have access to modern amenities for physical education classes, water polo and swim team practices and competitions, and more.
El Monte Union High School District celebrated a milestone in its commitment to clean mobility awareness with a dynamic ribbon-cutting ceremony on Feb. 23, which marked the completion of an eye-catching 80-foot-long mural, visible to tens of thousands of commuters on the 60 freeway, and electric vehicle car wraps that encourage the use of clean transportation. The projects marked the culmination of the District’s Clean Mobility in Schools Pilot Project. Students, administrators, project partners, parents, and representatives of local elected officials were also treated to a screening of the District’s new “Clean Energy Careers” animation created by renowned artist Lalo Alcaraz. The new animation aims to inspire the next generation of students to explore career opportunities that can positively impact air quality.
Colleges and universities are seeing an increasing number of learners from diverse backgrounds on their campuses, making it crucial for the institutions to establish cultures that welcome these students and set them up for success.One recognized and respected way to achieve this is Guided Pathways, a framework of structural and policy changes that help higher education institutions redesign the college experience, giving all students the support they need to feel welcomed and thrive on campus. The Institute for Evidence-Based Change’s (IEBC) Caring Campus builds on Guided Pathways by introducing cultural and behavioral practices, providing a holistic framework aimed to propel higher education toward a future where students seamlessly achieve their academic and career goals.
Three teams of students in Fontana High School’s Bio-Animatronic and Neuroprosthetic career technical education pathway earned special recognition in the International Technology and Engineering Educators’ (ITEEA) REACH Challenge. The REACH Challenge is a nationwide design thinking project that tasks students with creating a viable technological solution to help members of their community thrive. Two Fontana High teams secured semifinalist honors in the REACH Challenge, while a third earned special recognition. All three Fontana High teams were offered discounted registration to ITEAA’s 86th Annual Conference, held on March 6-9 in Memphis.
