Whittier Union was awarded an Aa1 credit rating by Moody’s Investor Service ahead of its second Measure AA bond issuance of $45.9 million, a high-grade rating that gives investors assurance that the District is financially sound and has the revenues and cash reserves to pay its debts. In awarding the top credit rating, Moody’s cited the District’s prudent fiscal practices and ability to maintain additional reserves outside of its general fund. The credit rating will help garner favorable interest rates when the District conducts its bond sale, which will lower the tax liability to property owners in the Whittier Union area.
Baldwin Park Unified to Host Annual College and Career Fair
Baldwin Park Unified will host its 15th annual College and Career Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30 at Baldwin Park High School, its first fair since 2019. Baldwin Park students, families and community members will have access to numerous informational and support services, including college and university recruiters, job opportunities with local businesses and healthcare resources at mental health agencies. Baldwin Park High School is located at 3900 Maine Ave., Baldwin Park.
Bonita Unified Rival Football Teams to Vie for Smudge Pot Victory
San Dimas and Bonita high schools will seek ultimate bragging rights – and an unusual trophy – in the 51st annual Smudge Pot football game, set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9 at the Citrus College Stadium, 1000 W. Foothill Blvd., Glendora. The friendly rivalry, which began in 1972, has become a beloved District tradition and display of school spirit, athletic prowess, and awe-inspiring halftime shows performed by cheer, dance and marching band students. The teams will compete for an iconic silver Smudge Pot, an oil-burning tool used to shield fruit trees from frost and a symbol of the cities’ roots in the region’s citrus industry.
The El Monte Union High School District will host a groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the start of construction for Mountain View High School’s (MVHS) Modernization Project and the completion of the school’s Zoo Crew Engineering Classroom Project at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 7 at MVHS. The projects feature enhancements to the entire campus, including redesigned landscaping and outdoor seating, softball/baseball field improvements, infrastructure upgrades, computer labs, 3-D modeling and workshop areas. Mountain View High School is located at 2900 Parkway Dr., El Monte.
A.B. Miller High School dance students will receive an opportunity to expand their creative horizons while learning to choreograph, perform and film new work uniquely designed for a specific location, thanks to a $50,000 grant from Southern California-based nonprofit homeLA, which will be used to fund a master class held at the Maloof Foundation Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga. The project, called inSITE, is available to A.B. Miller Dance Level 1 and Conservatory of Dance Level 2 students and will combine dance and film, as students work with professional film and dance artists to develop choreography that is site-specific to Maloof Gardens, working towards producing a live performance and an accompanying video by the end of the semester. A.B. Miller Conservatory of Dance director Nicole Robinson worked with homeLA to revive a similar project begun in 2020 that was curtailed due to the pandemic. That project also involved students creating dances specific to the Maloof Gardens that were to be viewed by the public. During the 2022-23 school year, the project concentrated on producing a site-specific video.
Bonita Unified students returned to campuses for the 2023-24 school year on Aug. 21, full of excitement and undeterred by rainy weather as they renewed old friendships, reviewed class schedules and met their new teachers. The District has welcomed four new campus administrators for the new school year, as well as a new senior director of secondary curriculum and instruction. Bonita Unified will also seek to expand its career technical education program by building partnerships with more industry professionals and introducing additional work-based learning opportunities.
Rain eased up across the San Gabriel Valley just in time for Covina-Valley Unified School District’s first day of school on Aug. 21, where more than 11,000 students were welcomed back to campuses with smiling faces, warm embraces, and colorful decorations. Covina-Valley’s 19 school sites serve the areas of Covina, West Covina, Glendora, Irwindale and unincorporated parts of L.A. County, providing students with award-winning programs at all grade levels.
Río Hondo College Police Academy Director Walter Allen III’s work to combat prejudice and stamp out pro-hate tactics during his more than four decades in law enforcement earned him the Huff Strategies – ACT Against Hate Alliance (AAHA) inaugural Leadership Award during an Aug. 17 ceremony in Rowland Heights. Allen has fought against implicit bias throughout his personal life and storied career in law enforcement, which includes his tenure at the Río Hondo College Police Academy and across California’s criminal justice and correctional systems.
El Monte Union Introduces and Welcomes Newest Educators
El Monte Union welcomed its newest educators during its annual New Employee Seminar, held on Aug. 8 at the District Board room. District administration greeted the new teachers, joined by the principals of its five comprehensive high schools, as well as its continuation school, adult school and adult transition center who officially welcomed them to the District. The new educators shared their academic highlights and some personal details, then heard from District service department representatives such as risk management and safety, nutrition services, purchasing department and facilities and maintenance.
Río Hondo College to Host 60th Anniversary Celebration
Río Hondo College will host a daylong celebration on its campus to commemorate its 60 years serving the community on Friday, Sept. 15 from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. The event is open to the community. The festivities will include international cuisine, live music and cultural performances, games and other fun-filled activities. For more information or to RSVP, visit gorio.page/60th-anniversary by Monday, Sept. 11. Río Hondo College is located at 3600 Workman Mill Rd., Whittier.
