Hacienda La Puente Unified Educators Shine at Adobe Creativity Institute
Hacienda La Puente Unified educators received an opportunity to enhance their tech skills, while discovering new digital tools and apps that will help them to initiate creativity in their classrooms during an all-day Adobe Creativity Institute professional development seminar, held on July 29. Nearly 200 HLPUSD teachers attended the seminar, making it the biggest cohort to ever attend an Adobe Creativity Institute event. Participants who completed the seminar received a certificate of achievement for completing six hours of accredited professional learning and earned Adobe Creative Educator Level 1 and Level 2 badges.
Whittier Union High School District’s incoming freshmen will kick off the 2024-25 school year during Freshmen First Day (FFD) on Tuesday, Aug. 13 at each of the District’s comprehensive high schools. FFD is an annual tradition that aims to ease the transition into high school for new students. It also helps new students build connections with one another and familiarize themselves with their new campus, and teachers and administrators, ensuring they are prepared to have an impactful high school experience.
Fontana Unified School District celebrated its commitment to conservation and mindful resource management with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held jointly with the Fontana Water Company on July 29 at Henry J. Kaiser High School to mark the completion of a reclaimed water project. Six FUSD schools in the south end of Fontana connected their existing landscape irrigation water supplies to recycled water, which is estimated to save enough drinking water to provide more than 200 Fontana residences with water for one year, which amounts to approximately $190,000 in savings each year for both the District and taxpayers.
El Monte Union High School District (EMUHSD) is welcoming three new administrators to the District for the 2024-25 school year, with each new appointee bringing a breadth of experience and passion for education to their positions. At the District level, EMUHSD has hired Dr. Michael Lin as the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services and Dr. Refugio Gracian as Director II of Human Resources. El Monte Union also appointed Renee Tellez as South El Monte High School’s new assistant principal.
Lynwood Unified Celebrates Summer Graduates with Ceremony
Lynwood Unified School District recognized 24 graduating seniors from Firebaugh, Lynwood, and Vista high schools for their hard work and perseverance during a milestone summer commencement ceremony on July 17. Denzel Enciso and Rebecca Sanchez from Vista High represented their school with grace as they thanked their families, Lynwood Unified support staff, teachers and principals, and praised the graduates for their determination to succeed.
Victor Valley College (VVC) has experienced a transformation by weaving Caring Campus principles and strategies across its campus, impacting the college’s culture, enrollment, and community engagement, and making VVC a model for other institutions of higher education. The results of VVC’s cultural shift are especially evident in the college’s enrollment growth. Despite a 20% drop in enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic, VVC has rebounded with a 50% increase over the past two years. VVC President Dr. Dan Walden cites Caring Campus as a contributing factor to this increase.
When Bonita High School rising junior Abigail Park was summoned to the BUSD District Office with her father, she thought she was being nominated for an extracurricular award. Instead, Park was greeted by College Board representatives, who surprised her with a $40,000 scholarship on July 25, as part of its BigFuture college and career planning campaign. High school students across the country are encouraged to go online and complete a series of quizzes and lists, with each student entry qualifying them to earn a scholarship. Two students are selected each month at random to receive a $40,000 scholarship. Park is active in Bonita’s hip-hop club, plays clarinet in the BHS band, and is president and co-founder of Bonita High’s Eco Club.
Sequoia Middle School’s commitment to equity, excellence, and innovation led to it being designated as a National School to Watch by the National Forum Advancing Excellence in the Middle Grades. The recognition serves as a redesignation for Sequoia, which first received the honor in 2017, for the school’s dedication to helping all students belong, learn, and grow. Fontana Unified School District and Sequoia Middle School staff were presented with the accolade at the National Schools to Watch Conference in Washington, D.C. in June.
Fifteen graduates from Lynwood High School achieved a historic milestone by graduating from college while simultaneously receiving their high school diplomas as part of Lynwood Unified’s tuition-free dual enrollment program in partnership with Compton College. Proudly wearing their Compton College caps and gowns, the first cohort of students in the District’s dual enrollment program participated in the June 7 commencement ceremony, earning their associate degrees alongside their college peers while garnering praise from Lynwood Unified administrators and college professors.
Río Hondo College Names Quad in Congresswoman Napolitano’s Honor
The Río Hondo College Board of Trustees unanimously approved renaming the College’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Quad as the Grace F. Napolitano Quad at its July 10 meeting, honoring Congresswoman Napolitano’s extensive contributions and advocacy for RHC, particularly its CTE programs, over her 24-plus years in Congress. RHC will host a dedication ceremony of the Grace F. Napolitano Quad for local elected officials and other distinguished guests at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 14.
