As communities across the state continue to shelter at home, practice social distancing and do their part to limit the spread of COVID-19, BPUSD is encouraging the community to look after mental and emotional health. Baldwin Park Unified celebrates May as Mental Health Month to provide the community an opportunity to discuss mental health challenges and to offer information, resources and support to students and families.
Baldwin Park Unified is accepting enrollment applications for transitional kindergarten to high school through online registration. With 14 Gold Ribbon schools, students in BPUSD pursue their passions in specialized science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics pathways, introducing students to an array of enrichment opportunities that lead to competitive fields in the workforce and higher education.
Baldwin Park Unified Class of 2020 student leaders gave shouts of joy and shed a few tears as a District caravan of well-wishers equipped with balloons and flowers traveled through the city on May 15 to personally deliver news that they had received scholarships ranging from $500 to $5,000. Wearing masks and practicing social distancing, District leaders surprised students at their homes, placing decorations and certificates on the lawns and porches of the recipients. Scholarships were provided by the Baldwin Park Organization of Supervisors and Administrators, Baldwin Park Education Association, Delta Kappa Gamma Society International and the Ramona Burnham Foundation.
Two Baldwin Park Unified student chefs are a step closer to realizing their dreams of becoming culinary artists or restaurant entrepreneurs after receiving Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) scholarships totaling nearly $40,000. Baldwin Park High senior Simon Luong won a full-tuition scholarship to the prestigious Institute of Culinary Education in Pasadena worth more than $30,000, while Sierra Vista High senior Angela Chandara received three cash scholarships totaling $4,000 to go toward the post-secondary culinary program of her choice.
Baldwin Park High School teachers, staff and administrators will celebrate students for their display of resiliency, patience and commitment to their education during the transition to remote learning. While students and educators are connecting online, everyone eagerly awaits a return to campus – making an uplifting drive-through parade an important way to connect and reunite through safe means. Baldwin Park High’s caravan will give special recognition to the 394 seniors in the Class of 2020 who are concluding their time at BPUSD and preparing for the next chapter of their educational journey and future careers.
Baldwin Park Unified Adult and Community Center is serving as a free drive-through COVID-19 testing site for Baldwin Park residents. The tests, which will be available for as long as supplies last, are being provided through a partnership that includes Vital Medical Services, Baldwin Park Unified and the City of Baldwin Park.
The Baldwin Park Unified Board of Education on April 28 unanimously adopted a resolution outlining the temporary assignment of grades and evaluation of student achievement during this prolonged period of school closures. The decision, taken during a virtual meeting, follows guidance from the California Department of Education (CDE) issued on April 1.
Baldwin Park High School senior Marisa Martinez and Sierra Vista High School senior Jade Zuniga have been awarded $1,000 scholarships from the East San Gabriel Valley chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for their exceptional work in advocating for mental health on campus and de-stigmatizing mental health issues in their communities. NAMI Club members work to spread positive messages on campus and provide workshops for students to discuss mental health and wellness issues.
Baldwin Park Unified continues to ensure every child has access to healthy, nutritious meals – despite school closures prompted by the COVID-19 virus – through its curbside meal distribution plan. To date, the District has served nearly 131,000 meals since March 16, when the District enacted school closures on the recommendation of county and state officials.
Free drive-through COVID-19 tests will be provided from Tuesday, April 14 through Saturday, May 9 at Baldwin Park Unified Adult and Community Education Center to Baldwin Park residents who exhibit symptoms of the illness or who have had contact with a person confirmed to have the illness. The tests are being provided through a partnership that includes Vital Medical Services, Baldwin Park Unified and the City of Baldwin Park.