Baldwin Park Unified students ages 12 to 15 and their families can receive free COVID-19 vaccinations through a District partnership with Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center. The vaccination center is located at Esther Snyder Community Center, 4100 Baldwin Park Blvd., Baldwin Park. The center is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Baldwin Park Unified’s Margaret Heath Elementary School celebrated the conclusion of the 2020-21 Latino Family Literacy Workshop with family stories on May 12, highlighting the importance of storytelling and family history. Heath Elementary parents, students, teachers, and Principal Maria Alonso shared stories and reminisced on the strengths gained during the virtual workshop. The Latino Family Literacy Project provides research-based programs for parents to engage with their children through literature and to promote biliteracy.
As part of the District’s rollout of its school reopening mental health support plan, Baldwin Park Unified’s Board of Education voted to approve expanded contract services with local mental health agencies during a regular board meeting on April 27. Baldwin Park Unified has expanded agreements with The Center for Integrated Family and Health Services (CIFHS) and Foothill Family, assigning mental health therapists to BPUSD campuses to ensure students have access to vital health services.
Baldwin Park High School student Diego Torres earned first place in the automotive service technology category at the SkillsUSA California State skills contest on April 17. Torres will go on to represent Baldwin Park High School and East San Gabriel Valley ROP at the SkillsUSA national competition.
Sierra Vista High School senior Jesus Medina has been recognized as a 2021 Dell Scholar by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. Medina will receive $20,000, spread over four years, a laptop and access to Dell Scholars Connect, a mentoring network that offers year-round support from current and former Dell Scholars. Median serves as SVHS ASB Executive Board vice president, AVID president and NAMI treasurer.
Baldwin Park Unified will host a virtual wellness fair beginning at 9 a.m., Saturday, May 1 for District families and community members, in partnership with Care Solace, Foothill Family, Kaiser Permanente, Project Cal-Well, the Center for Integrated Family and Health Services and TeenLine. Students, parents and staff will explore a variety of break-out sessions, where attendees can learn about self-care strategies and mental health resources. Visit www.bpusd.net for more details, including meeting links.
Sierra Vista High School sophomore Zihua Yu and freshman Melina Estrada were recognized for their excellence displayed in the bilingual education essay contest, winning first place among high school students in the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) and the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) student essay contests.
Baldwin Park Unified students will return to school for in-person learning on Monday, April 19, employing a staggered schedule that follows health and safety protocols. Transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students will join first- and eighth-grade students and high school seniors returning on Monday; second-, third-, and seventh-grade students, sophomores and juniors return on Tuesday, April 20; fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students and freshmen return on Thursday, April 22. The gradual return to campus for those participating in hybrid learning will be completed by Friday, April 23.
Baldwin Park Unified senior Adam Martinez was awarded the 2020-21 Margaret Heath Day Scholarship during the school’s virtual assembly on March 24. Martinez will apply the $500 scholarship to his post-secondary educational goals at Citrus College, where he plans to earn a degree to become an auto mechanic.
Twenty Sierra Vista High School students were recognized with certificates of completion during a virtual ceremony on March 17 for the Intergenerational Pilot Project (IPP), a multi-agency partnership between Kaiser Permanente EOP, La Posada Senior Housing Program, El Centro De Ayuda and Baldwin Park Unified. IPP was designed to provide comfort and open lines of communication with older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student interns were paired with adults from La Posada, making weekly phone calls of encouragement during Sierra Vista’s Flex Friday intervention class.