The College Board has recognized 11 Bonita Unified Class of 2018 graduates and a current senior as National Advanced Placement (AP) Scholars, highlighting a successful year for the District’s AP program as it continues to increase pass rates for AP exams and the number of students attending four-year universities. Bonita High School’s graduates named as National AP Scholars include: Stephen Brod, Rachel Cheung, Cynthia Dang, Garrett Palmer, Valerie Warner, Justin Woo and Monica Wu. San Dimas High School’s students include: Cameryn Baker, Aidan Ferguson, Ahmed Hasan and Jonathan Tsai.
Luke Melkesian from Bonita High School, Naomi Pearson from Chaparral High School and Erik Vargas from San Dimas High School are the newly appointed Board of Education student representatives for the 2018-19 academic year. Melkesian, a senior at Bonita High and Associated Student Body (ASB) president, has taken seven Advanced Placement (AP) courses over the last three years. He holds a 4.25 GPA.
Bassett High English teacher Tania Neri’s class formed a line dance to ask a series of “Would you rather?” questions each time they changed partners, learning personal details about their schoolmates on the first day of school on Aug. 6.
Monrovia Unified School District students continue to improve their performance in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), according to state data released Oct. 2. The 2018 state test scores show that 56.9 percent of students districtwide met or exceeded state standards in ELA, up from nearly 3 percent from 2016, and 41.25 percent met or exceeded state standards in math, up 3 points from 2016.
Students from Monrovia Unified’s Mayflower Elementary School and Wild Rose School of Creative Arts, along with Monrovia Police Department, will join schools from across the country to celebrate National Walk to School Day at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, October 10. Students will walk and bike to school along with parents and teachers as Monrovia police deploy to neighborhoods near schools to enforce traffic laws and remind everyone of the importance of pedestrian and bicycle safety. Students will arrive at 8 a.m. at Mayflower Elementary School, 210 N. Mayflower Ave., Monrovia, and Wild Rose School of Creative Arts, 232 Jasmine Ave., Monrovia.
The Lynwood Unified School District Board of Education has committed to better prepare students for higher education through college partnerships, improve community engagement by establishing a parent center at each school and increase access to technology for the 2018-19 school year. Board members defined their priorities as part of Lynwood’s Promise 2020 Vision during a retreat that kicked off the school year.
Lynwood Unified Parents Learn College Process at College Conference
Lynwood Unified parents received helpful advice about college requirements, deadlines and financial aid during Lynwood High School’s Parent College Conference on Sept. 29. The event was geared toward parents of seniors, providing tools for the college application process.
The El Monte Union Board of Trustees on Oct. 3 adopted a resolution supporting bullying prevention at its schools as part of National Bullying Prevention Month. The District pledges to work with community stakeholders, parents, students, teachers and staff to develop programs that foster a school climate free from bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence. Some measures the schools currently take include holding presentations on social media, cyber-bullying and bullying, as well as going over the process of reporting bullying with all students.
El Monte High School special education teacher Raelene Felix was recently recognized with the Exceptional Special Education Teacher Award by the West San Gabriel Valley Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) consortium for her tireless advocacy on behalf of special education and for her dedication to her students’ academic and socioemotional success. Felix works with students in the Career Skills Prep Academy (CSPA), established in 2014 at El Monte High School to assist students with mild to moderate disabilities who are not on track to earn a diploma and are not meeting core standards.
Whittier Union Lauds National Merit Scholarship Commended Students
Whittier Union High School District is celebrating several students who were named Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program. They are Cole Acedo, Ian Brennan, Kelvin Chong and Katelyn Nye from La Serna High School and Julia Casas from Whittier High School. National Merit Scholarship participants are selected based on how they score on their Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) scores, taken in junior year. Of the 1.6 million students who took the exam for a chance to win the prestigious $2,500 scholarship, 34,000 top scorers received a commendation and 16,000 were selected as semifinalists.
