Río Hondo College will hold a healing circle and grief counseling to support the community as we grieve the loss of Julius B. Thomas, who passed away on July 9, 2023. This event will provide students, faculty, staff, and alumni the space to share thoughts and feelings on the loss of Professor Thomas.
El Monte Union has selected Dr. Laura Rivas as its new Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, bringing an esteemed administrator and strong communicator dedicated to student success to the District. Rivas replaces Larry Cecil, who retired in June after 36 years with El Monte Union. Rivas, who has more than 25 years of experience in education, has served as a teacher, categorical programs advisor, assistant principal, principal and director of secondary education. An accomplished bilingual educator and relationship-builder, Rivas said she is committed to equity and meeting the academic and social-emotional needs of students and families in the District community.
Whittier Union High School District is kicking off the 2023-24 school year with the renewal of the GoPass program, offering students consistent and reliable transportation to school by providing unlimited rides at no cost on the Metro bus and rail. The program began its pilot year in Whittier Union in October 2021 after the District was approached by City of Whittier Mayor Pro Tem and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board member Fernando Dutra. The Fareless System Initiative aims to increase student ridership, student success, and improve student health. The pass allows each student unlimited rides on Metro bus and rail, as well as bus lines including Norwalk Transit, Montebello Bus, City of Commerce, LADOT Dash, Culver City Bus and the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus.
Long-time educators in Baldwin Park Unified and new hires will start the 2023-24 school year in administrative roles for the District, including leadership positions at BPUSD elementary, middle and high schools. Dr. Maria D. Alonso, former Margaret Heath Elementary Principal, will serve as Coordinator of Expanded Learning Opportunities in the District’s support services department, and Nancy Rodriguez was promoted to Director of Risk Management and Safety Response. Ofelia Romero will serve as principal at Bursch Elementary, Pamela Cruz will lead as principal at Olive Middle School, Julio C. Nunez will lead Sierra Vista Middle School, Raquel Gonzalez will serve as assistant principal at Kenmore Elementary, Vanessa Rivas will helm Jones Middle as assistant principal and Alyflor B. Navalta will be assistant principal at Baldwin Park High School.
Baldwin Park Unified Class of 2023 graduates earned Baldwin Park Business Association (BPBA) Scholarship Awards and were recognized during the BPBA meeting on July 19. North Park graduate Serenity Martinez, Baldwin Park High School Class of 2023 valedictorian Jayden Than and Sierra Vista High School grad Jeffrey D. Torres were celebrated for their achievements in education.
Quinley Quezada, a talented soccer star and alumna of Rosemead High School (RHS), achieved a monumental milestone as she proudly represented the Philippines in their first-ever Women's World Cup game on July 20. Quezada's soccer journey began at RHS, where her skills and unwavering dedication earned her a reputation as a standout player. She was named part of the First Team All-League for the 2011 to 2015 seasons. She was also recognized as the All-Mission Valley League Offensive Player of the Year in 2011 and 2015 and earned Female Athlete of the Year as a senior student.
South El Monte High School’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) students represented the El Monte Union community while competing in the National Leadership Conference in Georgia, held in June. Class of 2023 graduate Anthony Trieu brought home South El Monte’s first National FBLA Award as he took seventh place in the Word Processing event. With over 13,000 competitors from all over the country, South El Monte was recognized as a Gold Seal Chapter and a Gold Champion Chapter for 2022-2023. Throughout the conference, all four student representatives had the opportunity to connect with others and attend workshops focusing on topics such as leadership, college readiness, job interview skills and career exploration.
Río Hondo College has partnered with Lemelson-MIT to guide local students in all disciplines to become a new generation of inventors and entrepreneurs through its Bridge to Invention Río program. The program runs from Monday, July 17 through Friday, July 28 and is available at no cost to Río Hondo College students and high school juniors and seniors. It will be held at Río Hondo College from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be led by College faculty members in the disciplines of business, engineering, physics and architecture. Students will learn how to form open-ended inquiries to explore solutions, develop interview techniques and communication skills, and generate business plans that cover pitching, prototyping and funding cycles.
Río Hondo College will guide local middle and high school students through the math sequence, pre-algebra through pre-calculus, to prepare them for advanced math levels such as AP calculus and AP statistics, and higher education, with the new summer Río Hondo Math Academy.
La Serna High School senior Steven Figueroa loves the challenge of performing a successful dive. Whether competing on springboard at 1m or 3m or taking the plunge from a platform three stories high, Figueroa is making a name for himself around the Southern California diving community after winning the CIF Div. 3 championship as a junior. Figueroa, who began diving at seven years old, took the championship despite La Serna not fielding a diving team, representing his school as an individual competitor. In the last year, Figueroa has added platform diving to his repertoire, and dives with increasing degrees of difficulty, like reverse 2 ½ and inward 2 ½ dives.