AVID Coordinator Named El Monte Union 2018-19 Teacher of the Year
South El Monte High School Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) teacher Cesar Castellanos has dedicated his teaching career to encouraging students to follow their dreams. Castellanos, who has been a member of the El Monte Union family since 2011, was selected as the District's 2018-19 Teacher of the Year. AVID is an elective class designed to help traditionally underrepresented students forge a path to college by boosting their study skills and offering academic, social and emotional support.
Bonita Unified High Schools Prepare for Annual Smudge Pot
Bonita Unified’s San Dimas and Bonita high schools are warming up for their annual Smudge Pot football game, set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8 at Covina District field, 200 W. Puente St., Covina. The friendly rivalry started in 1972, with both high schools competing for an iconic silver Smudge Pot, an oil-burning tool used to shield fruit trees from frost and a symbol of the two cities’ roots in the region’s citrus industry.
Baldwin Park Unified to Promote Attendance during September Campaign
Baldwin Park Unified has officially designated September as School Attendance Awareness month, in an ongoing effort to dedicate its resources to reducing chronic absenteeism rates. Schools across the District will participate in raising awareness of the importance of student attendance through rallies, raffles and friendly competitions starting Tuesday, Sept. 4.
More than 75 Lynwood Unified students excitedly received new backpacks on Aug. 25 when they were gifted with packs stuffed with school supplies during California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon’s annual Backpack Giveaway. The District’s YouthAct Club worked with Rendon’s office to select more than 75 students from Lugo and Roosevelt elementary schools and one from Hosler Middle School to receive the new backpacks during a presentation at the Southgate Girls Club House.
Superintendent/President Teresa Dreyfuss, who helped lead Rio Hondo College through the Great Recession, execute close to $300 million in construction projects, open three regional campuses and create a historic four-year degree in automotive technology, will retire at the end of the 2018-19 academic year. Dreyfuss started at the College as an accountant in 1987 and rose through the ranks to become interim superintendent/president in 2012 and assuming the post permanently a year later. She announced her plan to step down on Aug. 17 to administrators, faculty and students attending a bi-annual FLEX staff development event.
Students from San Gabriel Unified’s Roosevelt Elementary ended their first week of school with a surprise gift of 60 backpacks full of school supplies and extra classroom supplies from Copper Moose Fitness in Pasadena. On Aug. 24, Copper Moose employees and San Gabriel Police officers helped students sift through backpacks emblazoned with superheroes, Disney characters, unicorns, emojis and lively patterns to find the perfect one.
Students from Baldwin Park Unified’s Charles Bursch Elementary School sifted through hundreds of backpacks to find the perfect one on Aug. 13 during Kaiser Permanente’s ninth annual Backpack and School Supply Donation Campaign. Kaiser Permanente’s Baldwin Park Medical Center provided select students at Bursch Elementary, Holland Middle School and Baldwin Park High School with more than 375 backpacks filled with grade-specific school supplies.
San Gabriel Unified students and staff returned for the 2018-19 year on Aug. 20, greeted by new principals and expanded learning opportunities designed to boost academic achievement. The District expanded its transitional kindergarten program to one additional school and added new classes to its signature Spanish dual-language immersion and elementary music immersion programs. Photos are available.
Lynwood Unified has expanded its internationally influential Building Relationships and Inspiring Dialogue through Global Exchange (BRIDGE) Theatre Project to include Firebaugh High School drama students, who will exchange short plays and performances with students in other countries. The BRIDGE program was previously offered to students in grades four through eight. In July, two graduates of Cesar Chavez Middle School performed at an arts festival in Rwanda as part of the program.
Fontana Unified to Engage Families with Parent University Classes
Fontana Unified will offer its second Parent University workshop of the year, continuing efforts to boost family engagement in the educational process. A free session on “College and Career Readiness” will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23 at Fontana Adult School, 10755 Oleander Ave.; and from 6 to 8 p.m. at the John D. Piazza Center, 9680 Citrus Ave. Translation services will be available.
