More than 10,000 Baldwin Park Unified students returned for the first day of the 2023-24 school year on Aug. 17, welcomed by energetic staff, cheer teams, colorful posters, balloons, photo backdrops, and Associated Student Body (ASB) and Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) student leaders across District campuses. From Early Childhood Education to the Baldwin Park Adult and Community Education, and transitional kindergarten through high school, Baldwin Park students were met with enhanced academic and enrichment opportunities, as well as bolstered mental health and wellness resources, including onsite wellness rooms, therapists and guidance counselors.
Southridge Tech Middle School staff and students smiled and hoisted “Thank You” signs on Aug. 11 as Walmart employees delivered a truck filled with donations to the school as part of a series of back-to-school giveaway events unfolding across Fontana Unified School District. More than 3,000 Fontana Unified students have started the 2023-24 school year equipped for success with new backpacks – often stuffed with school supplies – thanks to the generosity of eight community organizations that collected the items through in-house, back-to-school drives and donated the items to the District or its students.
Bonita High School Auto Shop students looking to expand their skill set and gain more experience under the hood of a car participated in the Citrus College High School Summer Academy, a four-day seminar that gave them an opportunity to work with Citrus Automotive Technology professors, and explore its Medium and Heavy Diesel Truck Tech program. More than a dozen Bonita High students attended the academy, offered for the first time this summer. Students received advanced instruction, watched demonstrations, then got hands-on lab experience with cars and trucks as they worked towards Summer Academy certificates of completion issued by Citrus professors. Among the highlights were crankshaft balancer and engine dynamometer demonstrations, and two days working exclusively with diesel trucks.
Amid an air of excitement and anticipation, more than 10,000 Whittier Union High School District students stepped onto campuses adorned with vibrant posters, balloons and red carpets on the much-awaited first day of school on Aug. 16. Across the District, students were welcomed onto campuses and greeted by energetic ASB and Link Crew members, cheer and song teams, principals and administrators. During the morning rush, band and color guard ensembles played exhilarating tunes, creating an engaging and positive campus atmosphere for students and setting the stage for a successful 2023-24 academic year. The District also hosted its annual Freshman First Day on Aug. 15 – a tradition that seeks to build camaraderie between incoming freshmen and their new school community.
More than 400 families left the Covina-Valley Unified School District Health and Wellness Center with huge smiles and backpacks brimming with free school supplies, thanks to the District’s first-ever “Back to School Extravaganza” held Aug. 10. The event – a resource fair aimed at preparing District families for the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 21 – included a complimentary pancake breakfast, free haircuts, health screenings, and mental health resources from the District’s Student Services team of counselors, social workers, and nurses.
Fontana Adult School (FAS) has received the Promising Practices Award from the California Department of Education (CDE) for its efficiency in conducting exit interviews with graduates and alumni. These interviews, which are required for all adult schools that receive funding from the state, ask the students if they have found work, how much money they are earning, and whether they are pursuing higher education. Fontana Adult School reaches out to students directly to conduct the survey, either through emails, phone calls, or text messages. The personal approach has proven successful, making former students feel comfortable and allowing FAS to gather additional information on how to improve the school, which offers a wide range of both free and fee-based courses across various career pathways.
Fontana Unified Board’s Student Rep Takes Oath of Office
Cheered on by her family and loved ones, Summit High School senior Julieta Gutierrez Martin took the oath of office during the Aug. 9 Board meeting, thereby beginning her term as the District’s Board of Education student representative for the 2023-24 school year. Over the next year, Gutierrez Martin will serve as the voice for all Fontana Unified students and provide their insight and perspective to the Board of Education. She is the first student from Summit High to serve in the role, which is filled after a school-blind application and interview process.
Demolition of Lynwood High Building Expected to Start in October
Construction plans for the new 150,000-square-foot classroom building at Lynwood High School’s Imperial campus and the reconfiguration and upgrade of its athletic fields continue to move forward, with demolition expected to start in October 2023. During a July 23 Board of Education study session representatives from the Huckabee construction firm reviewed the planned phases of the project, which include the construction of the new 70-classroom building, the rerouting of a fire lane and the upgrading of the baseball and softball fields.
Baldwin Park Unified Reaches Milestone with Braves Gym Project
Baldwin Park High School alumni, administrators, future Braves students, District leaders, Board of Education members, and city and local officials made a lasting mark on the school’s new gymnasium when attendees signed the final structural beam during a special ceremony on Aug. 3. The Baldwin Park High School gymnasium project, expected to be completed in fall 2024, is one of the first projects funded by Measure AE. Bond Measure AE was approved by voters in 2018 and will support the enhancement of learning facilities and the expansion of school safety and security.
Two Whittier Union high schools have been recognized for their success in guiding students toward completing rigorous coursework required to attend a California four-year university, significantly narrowing the achievement and equity gap, and providing students an opportunity to have greater success in higher education and pursue their dream career. Santa Fe and Pioneer high school students are completing their A-G coursework at rates far above the California average, and across numerous demographic subgroups, including socioeconomically disadvantaged, Latinx, Black and English Learner. Schoolwide A-G completion rates are 76% for Pioneer High and 65% for Santa Fe High. The California completion rate average is just over 40%.
