Bonita Unified School District will begin major renovations to the Bonita High School stadium on Aug. 8, as a part of the final project funded under the $97.1 million Measure AB bond. The $7.2 million renovation, expected to be completed by June 2019, received a generous contribution of $437,000 from the City of La Verne during Bonita Unified’s Board of Education meeting on Aug. 1.
Fontana Unified School District has appointed four new elementary school principals, who will welcome students, faculty and staff for the 2018-19 year on Monday, Aug. 6. Sandra Loudermilk will lead Date Elementary, Amanda Colon will lead Locust Elementary, Lauri Martin will helm Palmetto Elementary and Dr. Amanda Beasley will oversee Randall Pepper Elementary.
Baldwin Park Unified is set to participate in the city’s 35th annual National Night Out, a community-building event that promotes police and community partnerships with a 1.5-mile march from Baldwin Park City Hall to the Target Center. The event will kick off at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7 at Baldwin Park City Hall, 14403 Pacific Ave., Baldwin Park.
San Gabriel Unified’s Gabrielino High School will expand its Mandarin course offerings with new instruction for both beginners and native speakers in 2018-19, furthering a districtwide effort to promote multilingualism and multiculturalism. “Mandarin for Heritage Learners,” which will be offered as part of the Mandarin 4 class, aims to enhance the overall education of Chinese heritage students who are native speakers by boosting Chinese literacy, intercultural knowledge and social development. The school is also considering an introductory Mandarin course, which will help students learn about Chinese culture, acquire Chinese conversational skills and have the opportunity to interact with people in Chinese-speaking communities.
Nearly 200 Fontana Unified administrators brainstorm creative solutions to educational challenges, celebrated innovation among their peers and strengthened their management skills during the District’s inaugural Leadership Institute on July 16 and 17. The two-day, team-building seminar kicked off with a keynote address from Dr. Adam Steltzner, the chief engineer on NASA’s Mars 2020 project. Steltzner discussed his unconventional path to becoming a NASA engineer and discussed the importance of embracing curiosity-based decision making.
About 45 members of the Boys & Girls Club of Whittier created electronic escape room games, created relief-prints and composed electronic music during a four-day, project-based summer camp at Rio Hondo College. Camp Rio was sponsored by the Whittier-based BCM Foundation and Pacific Western Bank as a way to offer project-based learning opportunities to area children ages 11 to 13 and inspire interest in college opportunities. Participants not only explored their topics, but enjoyed afternoon sports clinics and, on the last day, a celebration at the Rio Hondo College pool. Rio Hondo College faculty experts taught all classes, with assistance from Rio Hondo students. Children received T-shirts, ball caps and backpacks with material on the benefits of college.
More than 100 middle school students from five school districts built small engines, crystal radios and bridges and learned to do CPR as part of Rio Hondo College’s eighth annual CTE Career Exploration Summer Academy. The academy focuses on health science, engineering and automobile technology – all Rio Hondo College fields of study. The program has grown from 30 middle school students in its first year. Each day includes hands-on activities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). For example, in the small-engine project, students broke down and assembled a car engine. Along the way, they learned electrical theory, calculations and application. In a structural design class, they constructed and tested the strength of bridges.
About 110 middle school students from five Whittier-area school districts explored career and technical education (CTE) fields in July as part of Rio Hondo College’s eighth annual CTE Boot Camp, a weeklong summer program that also seeks to inspire students to consider their college options. Students designed and tested bridges, built small engines and crystal radios, and learned the basics of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Photos and video are available.
Two Paramount High School Class of 2018 graduates were recently named National AP Scholars by the College Board for academic excellence. Fernanda Corona and Raymond Rosales were recognized for averaging 4.0 or higher on all of their Advanced Placement tests and 4.0 or higher on eight exams throughout the school year. Corona was Paramount High’s class valedictorian and is now attending Duke University. In December 2017, Paramount Unified was recognized as an AP Honor Roll school district by the College Board for boosting access to AP courses to a broader number of students while maintaining or improving AP exam rates.
Monrovia High School is preparing incoming freshmen for the next stage of their educational journey through the school’s Summer Bridge Program, a five-week course that familiarized English language learners with the expectations of ninth-grade academics. Students were introduced to learning strategies and writing techniques that can be applied to all core subjects from June 14 to July 18.