Fontana Unified scholars eager to learn about college life and the role that Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) have played in ensuring equity in education for underrepresented students, are preparing to take the trip of a lifetime when they join the District’s inaugural HBCU Campus Tour. More than 100 students have signed up to join the six-day chaperoned tour, which is scheduled for March 17-22 and will visit Georgia, Alabama, Florida and historic campuses of schools like Morehouse College, Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman University and more. Fontana Unified, which is partnering with On A Mission Youth Travel to organize the tour, will cover the costs of airfare, lodging and meals.
Covina-Valley Unified School District is breaking ground on Covina High School’s new aquatics center, which will include replacing the current 1950’s-era pool and upgrading the aquatics facilities, ensuring students have access to modernized amenities. C-VUSD expects the project to be completed by Spring 2025.
Bonita Unified School District students’ achievements in their academic, athletic, artistic and extracurricular endeavors took center stage during the 2024 State of the District address, held Feb. 8 at the Bonita Center for the Arts. Hosted in partnership with the La Verne and San Dimas Chambers of Commerce, the State of the District brought together nearly 200 local elected officials, representatives from businesses and community organizations, residents, parents and District employees, who listened to Superintendent Matt Wien reflect back on the District’s accomplishments in 2023 and share its vision for the future. The event culminated with the premiere of Bonita Unified’s 2024 showcase video titled “The Bonita Way,” an uplifting reflection on the District’s award-winning academic and co-curricular programs, dedicated employees and high-achieving students.
Covina-Valley Unified to Host Groundbreaking for New Aquatics Center
Covina High School will hold a groundbreaking for its new aquatics center, to be held at 4 p.m., Monday, Feb. 26. The new center will replace the current 1950s-era pool and will upgrade the aquatics facilities, ensuring students will have access to modernized amenities. The event will include speeches by C-VUSD Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Eminhizer, C-VUSD Board of Education members, Covina High School student board member Gianna Herrera, and Congresswoman Grace Napolitano. Covina High School is located at 463 S. Hollenback Ave., Covina.
A.B. Miller High School students will get a first look at their school’s new mascot during a pair of upcoming on-campus rallies. The school will reveal its new-look “Rebel” mascot and pass out t-shirts with the new mascot to students in attendance.
Río Hondo College will host a ribbon cutting during a grand opening celebration for the institution’s first Pride Center. The center will serve as an inclusive space where students who identify as LGBTQIA+ can go for support resources and gather in community.
Bonita Unified educators will see their classroom projects come to life after receiving mini-grants from the Rotary Club of San Dimas that will support a campus wellness center, outdoor play areas and resources for math students, as the service organization continued its tradition of supporting District initiatives during the Feb. 7 Board of Education meeting. Rotary Club of San Dimas members distributed $1,500 in mini-grants to Chaparral-Vista High School counselor Val Herrera, Shull Elementary School kindergarten teacher Somer Estrada and Shull Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Susan Hsiung.
Bonita Unified elementary school students are discovering the joys of having a high school mentor and best buddy through a new career technical education partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters Los Angeles, which provides mentoring specialists to lead programs for Grace Miller Elementary and La Verne Heights Elementary students who desire afterschool companionship. Big Brothers Big Sisters pairs older students, known as “Bigs,” with younger students, known as “Littles.” The Bigs consist of Bonita High School volunteer mentors who meet once a week at the elementary school campuses to connect and spend time with their Littles. The program, which debuted in Oct. 2023, will run for the rest of the 2023-24 school year.
Whittier Union Students Learn Importance of Diplomacy in Global Affairs
California High School’s Model United Nations (Condor MUN) program is giving students a real-world perspective on global issues and allowing them the opportunity to learn the importance of diplomacy by serving as delegates, role-playing and writing position papers on a diverse array of topics such as maritime piracy and mental health in humanitarian crises. Available as an afterschool extracurricular since 2007, Condor MUN has increased its profile among southern California MUN programs, with Cal High adding an AP Comparative Government class compatible with MUN research areas and boosting its MUN club membership enough so that Cal High could host its first Condor MUN conference in December 2023.
Lynwood Community Adult School Graduates Newest Vocational Nurses
More than a dozen aspiring nurses lit candles, symbolizing their devotion and commitment to the care of others, and catapulted their career aspirations in the medical profession during the Lynwood Community Adult School’s vocational nursing graduation and pinning ceremony on Feb. 1. Sixteen students in the 2023-24 cohort graduated from the intensive 13-month vocational nursing program, which equips students with the principles and skills necessary to succeed as nurses in a hospital setting.
