Paramount Unified has received the 2016-17 Risk Management Pays Award and an $8,000 grant from the Alliance of Schools for Cooperative Insurance Programs for the District’s efforts to minimize safety risks through faculty training. Funds will go to improve the identification system of visitors on school campuses and for safety devices that automatically lock doors at schools and facilities in emergencies.
Recent graduates of Baldwin Park Unified credit Jones Junior High School counselor Sergio Barragan with helping them achieve academically, collaborate with teachers and inspire them to pursue their college dreams. Barragan founded College 411 in 2011, a program that connects students with Jones alumni like Caballero to learn about higher education. This school year, Barragan expanded College 411 to include college visits, with eighth-graders touring the University of La Verne, UC Riverside and California State University, Long Beach. Students were given an overview of academic and social life with opportunities to see lecture halls, classrooms and dorm-living.
Bassett High School will host the two-day “Every 15 Minutes” program using a trio of techniques to bring home the dangers of drinking and driving: a graphic staging of a deadly drunk-driving crash, students randomly pulled from classes to represent lives lost to intoxicated driving and a mock funeral service. The crash scene will take place at 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, March 20 at Bassett High School, 755 Ardilla Ave., La Puente. A mock funeral and assembly will be held the following day at 11 a.m.
Driven by a four-year effort to refine and develop the English Language Development (ELD) program, Gabrielino High School has boosted English learner graduation rates by removing barriers to classes that fulfill college requirements. Through the targeted program, the ELD team was able to substantially reduce the percentage of non-graduate English learner students.
The Whittier Union High School District held a safety review meeting for dozens of District administrators, safety personnel and partner elementary school districts to review the District’s security practices and mental health services, as well as learn about the psychology of attackers from noted expert Dr. Manny Tau, incident responses from the Whittier Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department as well as the post-incident response. The District is constantly reviewing school and district safety plans and held the meeting in response to the recent school shooting in Florida.
Torch Middle School’s Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) students returned to their alma maters at Sunkist and Van Wig elementary schools on March 2 to conclude the annual Read Across America celebration by reading childhood classics to the younger students. Torch Middle students also brought in books, socks and toothbrushes to donate to a local women’s and family shelter.
Fontana Unified School District will hold free Parent University workshops from 9 to 11 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, highlighting tips for helping students avoid the “summer slide” in learning. The workshops will be at the Piazza Educational Center, 9680 Citrus Ave., Fontana. Childcare and translation services will be available.
In its first year as a Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) Division I school, Rosemead High School’s Academic Decathlon team earned a fourth-place finish at the LACOE Academic Decathlon, advancing to the California State Championship on Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24 in Sacramento.
A surge of red-cheeked runners rounded the last corner of the Baldwin Park High School track on March 23 as more than 160 students in kindergarten through sixth grade from Baldwin Park Unified’s Tracy and Vineland elementary schools completed the final mile of a 26.2-mile marathon. Tracy and Vineland students joined Rod Dixon’s Kids Marathon Run Club to complete the marathon in weekly stages. Photos are available
San Gabriel Unified’s special education department will host a family-focused workshop titled Teen Suicide Awareness from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 14 in the SGUSD board room, 408 Junipero Serra Drive, San Gabriel. Family members, teachers and staff who support special needs students will learn tips for recognizing mental health concerns and potential signs of suicide in teens and how to provide support.