Lynwood Unified Students Receive Free Prescription Glasses
Dozens of young learners at Roosevelt Elementary School received free prescription glasses through the District’s partnership with Vision to Learn, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating vision issues as a barrier to education, during an exuberant ceremony on Jan. 25. The students previously went through free screenings at Vision to Learn’s mobile eye clinic, where optometrists conducted full exams, wrote prescriptions and fitted students for glasses with frames of their choice. The collaboration between Vision to Learn and Lynwood Unified underscores the power of championing accessible and quality eye care and creating a brighter future for Lynwood’s youth.
Bonita Unified Alumna Goes Pro in National Women’s Soccer League
San Dimas High School Class of 2022 graduate Ally Lemos was drafted by the Orlando Pride in the first round of the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Draft on Jan. 12. Ally graduated early from San Dimas High School in Dec. 2021 and went on to have two stellar seasons with the UCLA women's soccer team, which included a NCAA Championship title in 2022, an ESPY Award nomination for "Best Play," and multiple selections for the U.S. U-20 Women's Youth National Team. Ally is the fourth-youngest draftee in NWSL history.
Whittier Union Mentoring Group Inspires Male Students
At California High School, a group of sophomores are bonding over meals, conversations and hobbies while they navigate life in high school and prepare for their post-graduation opportunities through the school’s Fresh Air Mentoring (FAM) group. Cal High counselors Humberto Solorio and Matthew Tremper started the FAM group in 2019 to connect with male students who were otherwise disconnected from campus life. The counselors saw an opportunity for these students to connect with one another by spending quality time outdoors and bonding over a love of food and community. Since its launch, FAM has quickly turned into a group of brothers and mentors. Now with the second cohort of FAM members – consisting of 26 sophomores – counselors Tremper and Solorio are creating an ecosystem of support.
Almond Elementary School is asking its scholars to “take a book and share a book” as it kicks off its new Little Free Library Program, designed to increase access to literature and promote a reading culture beyond the classroom. Almond Elementary installed a wooden box shaped like a little house in the front of the school and stocked it with library books in Nov. 2023, inviting students to borrow and return books at any time. The school’s goal is to provide Little Free Libraries throughout the Almond community by encouraging families to post little libraries on their front lawns during the 2024 spring semester.
100 Bonita Unified TK-12 Students to Star in ‘Mary Poppins’ Musical
The San Dimas High School Drama Club is staging a winter production of "Mary Poppins," bringing together more than 100 TK to 12th-grade students from nine Bonita Unified schools for a heartwarming display of musical and theatrical talents. There will be two shows per day from Friday, Feb. 9 to Sunday, Feb. 11 at the Bonita Center for the Arts, 822 W. Covina Blvd., San Dimas. For show times and tickets, visit www.bonitacenterforthearts.com.
Hacienda La Puente Unified School District’s high school students are gaining insight into different cultures, histories and perspectives through the District’s Intersectional Ethnic Studies classes, which provides them with a deeper understanding of the nuances and complexities that have helped shape society. The District currently offers 11 sections of Ethnic Studies courses across its five high schools. These University of California A-G approved courses include curriculum and pedagogy that focus on the struggles and oppression of minority and marginalized groups and center on the importance of movement toward educational and social justice.
Covina-Valley Unified School District’s Adult Transition Program (ATP) is helping students at Mt. San Antonio College (MSAC) gain hands-on experience working with people with disabilities, allowing them to develop the skills they need for a career as a psychiatric technician. In their introductory courses, MSAC students focus on a curriculum that encompasses biological, psychological, social, medical, and behavioral characteristics of developmental disabilities and etiologies. These students are then presented with the opportunity to intern with Covina-Valley Unified, where they help ATP students both in the classroom and with their community-based instruction.
The Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC) is bringing Caring Campus to Texas A&M University – Kingsville (TAMUK), the first university to adopt the program as IEBC expands its reach to establish a culture of care on campuses nationwide. TAMUK joins the more than one hundred community colleges across the country who have implemented Caring Campus at their institutions, thereby improving student connectedness and boosting their determination to succeed. Data shows that if students do not feel connected to the institution they attend, they are far less likely to persist and graduate. With that in mind, IEBC has developed its Caring Campus program to increase students’ sense of belonging and increase student success for all students.
More than 25 Fontana High School (FOHI) students flashed joyful smiles as they huddled around a fire engine and helped deliver it into the school’s Fire Technology and Emergency Services classroom, McGinnis Station 815, during a traditional push-in ceremony on Jan. 10. Members of the Fontana Rotary Club and San Bernardino County Fire Department, who teamed up to donate the fire engine to Fontana High, joined students and staff in cheers and a round of applause during the ceremony. FOHI’s Fire Technology and Emergency Services CTE students will continue to perform hands-on activities with the retired San Bernardino County fire engine throughout the school year.
Bonita Unified Students Explore Career Options at General Atomics
Thirty Bonita Unified students gained insight into a variety of jobs available within a corporation – from assembly work to manufacturing engineering – during a Jan. 21 field trip to General Atomics in Poway, which develops advanced technology for government and commercial applications. Students toured the facility, experienced each stage of the development of unmanned aircrafts, and learned about paid internship opportunities. The field trip is one of many offered this year as part of Bonita Unified’s increased focus on expanding work-based learning opportunities for students.
