Six Fontana Unified high schools have been honored in the 2023-24 Best High Schools rankings by U.S. News & World Report, celebrating the District’s efforts to guide students into lucrative industries and continue their education at institutions such as Harvard, Yale, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia and Johns Hopkins. All five FUSD comprehensive high schools received standout rankings among schools in the region and were ranked in the top 21 percent of public high schools nationwide, an achievement supported by the District’s robust high school programming and college and career readiness program. Eric Birch High School, one of the District’s two continuation schools, was also ranked for the second time in three years.
The Randall Pepper Elementary School robotics program is gearing up for a return trip to Europe after a two-student team of third-graders, Keilani Aquino and Anthony Diaz-Flores, qualified for the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) Friendship Invitational Tournament 2023, to be held Sept. 21-24 in Odense, Denmark. As members of Randall Pepper’s WRO Robotics Club, Aquino and Diaz-Flores honed their craft, learning to build and code robots during a half dozen club meetings held on Saturdays throughout the 2022-23 school year. The pair’s knowledge and teamwork paid off during the WRO U.S. Open held in June, an event featuring more than 100 teams in competition. This is the second time that Randall Pepper robotics students have qualified for the tournament, first traveling to Aarhus, Denmark to participate in the tournament in 2019.
When El Monte Union High School District applied to be part of the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Clean Mobility in Schools Pilot Project, their goals were twofold: begin to build clean transportation infrastructure for the District and help the greater El Monte community understand the benefits that clean mobility brings to everyone. The District’s second goal unexpectedly connected the Clean Mobility team with two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Lalo Alcaraz and his team at Pocho Villa Productions, resulting in the creation of the animated short "Taking a Healthy Ride on the Green Side." The 90-second animation and companion 30-second PSAs in English and Spanish focus on green mobility options and benefits and will be available on the El Monte Union High School District’s Clean Mobility website, as well as their social media channels. The PSAs will be offered for broadcast statewide, amplifying the clean mobility message to communities across the state.
Bonita High School’s ProStart culinary students will seek to enhance their technical skills in the new school year, bolstered by their success in the California Restaurant Foundation’s Culinary Clash over the summer. Students both volunteered and competed at the annual event, which brings the restaurant community together to raise funds for high school culinary arts programs. In the Culinary Clash, restaurants are paired with a ProStart student sous chef to create a menu item using required ingredients. In this year’s competition, Bonita High students and alumni represented Outback Steakhouse and Black Bear Diner.
Lynwood Unified Initiates Bidding Process for LHS Imperial Campus
Several potential contractors gathered at the Lynwood High School Imperial Campus on Aug. 15 to receive an overview of the reconstruction project, tour the site, and submit questions as part of a demolition bidding process that will help the Board of Education determine who it selects to tear down the fallen building. The mandatory job walk was the first step in securing a contractor to carry out the demolition of building G and the necessary surrounding areas. To celebrate this next step, the District will soon hold a demolition ceremony for the Lynwood Unified community.
Baldwin Park Music Educator Named Outstanding Teacher of the Year
Baldwin Park Unified’s Orchestra Director Paul Grant was named a 2023 Outstanding Orchestra Teacher of the Year by the American String Teacher Association, Los Angeles Chapter, for his dedication to ensuring student success through equitable access to instruments. Grant was recognized for advocating for the purchase of hundreds of stringed instruments for the District’s orchestra program and overseeing an overhaul of overused and damaged musical instruments and supplies for band and orchestra.
Bonita Unified School District’s emphasis on student achievement – which includes strong academic performance and a culture of college and career readiness – has earned both Bonita and San Dimas high schools recognition among the top-performing public high schools in the state and country, according to the 2023-24 Best High Schools rankings by U.S. News & World Report. Bonita High was ranked in the top eight percent of public high schools nationwide; San Dimas High was listed among the top 15 percent of schools nationwide.
Fontana Unified to Co-Host Regional College and Career Fair
Fontana Unified School District will join forces with Chaffey Joint Union High School District to host the annual Regional College and Career Fair from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at the Ontario Convention Center. The free event will introduce more than 60,000 students from the two school districts to representatives from dozens of colleges and universities across the country. Students can also explore potential career pathways, trade schools and more. The Ontario Convention Center is located at 2000 E. Convention Center Way, Ontario.
Whittier Union Students to Host Annual Districtwide College Fair
Whittier Union High School District students will fill the California High School quad to learn more about their post-secondary options and forge a path to their future during the 2023 Districtwide College Fair at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 13. Students will have the opportunity to speak with representatives from more than 50 colleges – which include several UC and CSU campuses, along with private schools, community colleges, trade schools, United States Armed Forces and out-of-state universities – to gain insight to each school’s offerings and fill out registration cards for more information. California High is located at 9800 Mills Ave., Whittier.
Fontana Unified School District will continue its partnership with Chaffey Joint Union High School District to cohost the annual Regional College and Career Fair and United College Action Network, Inc. (U-CAN) Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Recruitment Fair, which aim to increase awareness of and access to higher education opportunities. Collectively, the events will feature representatives from more than 80 colleges and universities from across the state and country, including Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State San Bernardino, Morehouse College, Pepperdine, Occidental, Spelman College, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and Xavier University of Louisiana. The Regional College and Career Fair is open to K-12 students and families, and the U-CAN HBCU Recruitment Fair is open to high school juniors and seniors; admission is free for both fairs.
