Baldwin Park Unified School District’s STEM Academy has earned the SupportMusic Merit Award from the NAMM Foundation, celebrating its inclusive music education program that fosters a love for the arts among both typical learners and students in the school’s special education Cornerstone program. The SupportMusic Merit Award honors schools that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access to all students. BP STEM Academy is one of 78 schools across the nation to earn the award in 2023.
Baldwin Park High School Stages Mental Health Awareness Fair
Baldwin Park High School students created and led a Mental Health Awareness Fair on May 19 to further promote Mental Health Awareness month on campus. More than 100 students in the school’s mental health pathway researched current mental health topics and created interactive displays to engage with peers and educators on the importance of mental health discussion and increasing early intervention and prevention. Students organized special guest speakers from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, including Dr. Luis Guzman, a psychologist who leads the Latino Underserved Cultural Communities subcommittee under the Mental Health Services Act, as well as Julie Matsumoto and Josof Sanchez of Operation Street Kidz.
Baldwin Park Unified Seniors Celebrated as Joint Scholarship Winners
Fourteen graduating seniors from Baldwin Park Unified were recognized with thousands of dollars in District and local scholarships during BPUSD’s annual Joint Scholarship Ceremony on May 18. Seniors were evaluated based on GPAs, achievements in education, community service and personal essays about educators who influenced their academic paths. More than 30 educators, parents, administrators and staff joined the virtual Joint Scholarship Ceremony to celebrate the high-achieving seniors from Baldwin Park High School, North Park Continuation High School, Sierra Vista High School and the Baldwin Park Adult and Community Education (BPACE) program.
Set to the backdrop of cheering families and sweeping orchestral music, Baldwin Park Unified School District celebrated more than 900 graduates in the Class of 2023 for their hard work and accomplishments during commencement ceremonies for the District’s adult school, continuation high school and two comprehensive high schools. The Baldwin Park Adult and Community Education program kicked off the festivities on June 1, with more than 230 graduates receiving career technical education certificates, diplomas and high school equivalency certificates. North Park Continuation High School seniors walked down the red carpet before accepting their diplomas on June 7, followed by Baldwin Park and Sierra Vista high school grads on June 8 in front of hundreds of families, friends, educators and administrators.
Baldwin Park Senior Awarded $1,000 Water District Scholarship
Baldwin Park High School senior Jayden Than was awarded a $1,000 scholarship for his essay on water conservation through the Valley County Water District’s (VCWD) scholarship program Scholar Dollar, and sponsored by Conservation Education Team. Than was recognized during a VCWD board meeting on April 24.
Baldwin Park Unified to Join City’s Mental Health Awareness Event
Baldwin Park Unified to Join City’s Mental Health Awareness Event
Baldwin Park Unified School District is partnering with the City of Baldwin Park for its third annual Mental Health Awareness event, on Saturday, May 13, which will begin with a one-mile walk at 9 a.m. from City Hall to Morgan Park. Following the walk, the event will feature a vendor fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a kid’s zone, and free lunch and t-shirts while supplies last. Live entertainment will be provided at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Morgan Park’s Cesar E. Chavez Amphitheater. City Hall is located at 14403 Pacific Ave. and Morgan Park is located at 4100 Baldwin Park Blvd.
Baldwin Park Unified juniors from Baldwin Park, North Park and Sierra Vista high schools will embark on an educational trip to the California State Capital in Sacramento this summer, thanks to a generous donation from the City of Baldwin Park’s financial assistance program. Thirty-two BPUSD juniors will receive a full-guided tour of the State Capital from Monday, June 12 through Thursday, June 15. The sponsored trip will include airfare, transportation, hotel accommodations, meals and a full-time tour director.The City of Baldwin Park’s sponsored field trip was developed in partnership with the City and District to provide BPUSD students with additional field trip opportunities to increase student access to engaging and life-changing learning experiences. Baldwin Park’s City Council approved the allocation of $120,000 for the Field Trips Financial Assistance Program earlier this year.
The Fontana Unified School District and the City of Fontana are partnering with community stakeholders to host a Community Roundtable from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 20 at the Jessie Turner Health and Fitness Community Center. Parents and residents are invited to join FUSD Superintendent Miki Inbody and Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren as they work together to foster a more cohesive, respectful sense of community. The Community Roundtable will encourage dialogue, acknowledge and address biases, and collaborate on creating a more inclusive learning environment and community.
Elementary students at Baldwin Park Unified’s STEM Academy are writing code, programing robots, building crash test dummies and more as part of the in-depth, hands-on learning instruction through Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Launch curriculum. BP STEM Academy third- through fifth-grade students are immersed in activities, projects and problem-solving opportunities that help them develop skills in engineering, biomedicine and computer science. The curriculum aims to challenge students to design and execute experiments, and communicate their results visually and orally.
Baldwin Park Unified Announces District Teacher of the Year
Olive Middle School educator Alejandra Covarrubias is a leader on her campus in many ways – she teaches seventh grade Dual Language, sixth grade English Language Arts, a study skills class, and as Associated Student Body (ASB) Director, teaches the ASB leadership class. For her dedication to her students and peers, Covarrubias was named Baldwin Park Unified’s 2022-23 Teacher of the Year. Covarrubias first started working at the District in 2005 as a second and third grade teacher at De Anza and Geddes elementary schools, before transitioning to the middle school level in 2014. She will represent Baldwin Park Unified at the 2023 Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year Awards Ceremony.
