Follow-up Story: Baldwin Park Unified is replacing football and soccer fields at Baldwin Park and Sierra Vista high schools and upgrading tracks this summer in preparation for the 2017-18 school year. Construction on the $1.9 million project began June 5 with local contractor AFE Sports installing the new turf and tracks. Work is expected to conclude on Aug. 14, the first day of classes. The artificial turf being replaced lasted for 10 years; the new turf is estimated to last for 10 to 12 years. The new turf uses an interwoven nylon threading, which will maintain a cooler temperature than the previous turf. The new tracks will feature an all-weather rubberized artificial running surface with new start-finish lines.
Follow-up Story: Students at Baldwin Park Unified’s Sierra Vista High Schools, Santa Fe Elementary and Sierra Vista Junior High schools received backpacks loaded with school supplies this week thanks to a partnership with Kaiser Permanente’s Baldwin Park Medical Center. Teams from the medical center donated more than 110 backpacks to Sierra Vista, 140 backpacks to Santa Fe Elementary and 110 to Sierra Vista Junior High. Students picked them up during special events on Aug. 1, 3 and 4. This is the eighth year Kaiser has donated packs to Baldwin park Unified, where about 86 percent of students come from low-income households. Each year, three new schools are chosen for the giveaway.
Baldwin Park Unified Joins National Night Out Celebration
Baldwin Park Unified will participate in the community’s 34th annual National Night Out anti-crime program at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1. National Night Out promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer and more caring places to live. The event begins with a 1.5 mile-march from Baldwin Park City Hall to the Target Center, where the community will hold a celebration with free barbecue, entertainment and prizes. Local vendors will staff booths.
Baldwin Park Unified Celebrates ULV Admissions Partnership
Follow-up Story: Baldwin Park Unified Superintendent Dr. Froilan N. Mendoza signed an agreement with University of La Verne President Devorah A. Lieberman on July 20 for the college’s Partnership for Access to College Education (PACE) program, which provides guaranteed admission and financial aid to qualified graduates of participating high schools. Baldwin Park was one of 11 area school districts recognized at the event for joining PACE. Photos are available
Follow-up Story: Baldwin Park Unified’s Superintendent Froilan N. Mendoza solidified a partnership with the University of La Verne on July 20 that ensures students have access to a top-quality, affordable college education. The Partnership for Access to College Education (PACE) promises qualified Baldwin Park students a pathway to the University of La Verne that includes guaranteed admission, financial aid, application fee waivers and a variety of programs to assist with college readiness. Baldwin Park Unified joins 22 other Southern California school districts in partnering with the University of La Verne, with representatives from the university and the school districts pledging their efforts to make higher education obtainable for every student. The District’s graduation rate reached 93 percent in 2015-16, and Baldwin Park Unified educators are working to increase the number of those graduates who attend four-year universities.
Baldwin Park Unified will expand an all-day preschool program to 80 additional students in four new classrooms in fall 2017 under the provisions of a $2.8 million federal grant. The expansion, which will launch in October, will allow the District to serve 195 students with the 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. all-day program, including 20 students in the District’s second preschool Spanish dual-language immersion classroom. Baldwin Park Unified serves 1,400 Early Childhood Education students, with most attending either an 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. morning session or a 12:30 to 3 p.m. afternoon session. A pilot effort in 2016-17 offered all-day service in six classrooms, which sparked great interest in the option among parents.
Baldwin Park Unified will redouble its focus on academic success in 2017-18, restructuring leadership and coaching teams at 13 elementary and four middle/junior high schools to bolster support for teachers. Nine new elementary school assistant principals and 17 curriculum, technology and intervention (CTI) coaches will replace and augment the efforts of the District’s former team of 17 resource teachers, who handled a mix of classroom support and select administrative tasks. The assistant principals will free elementary school principals to take a stronger role in overseeing instructional quality. The CTI coaches will focus on improving student outcomes at elementary and middle schools.
Baldwin Park Unified launched an official Facebook page on July 17, adding a new channel to strengthen communications with local families and community members. The page provides up-to-date news about academic programs and student support services. The page works in concert with the District website, its innovative mobile application, email news distribution and quarterly printed newsletters to keep the community informed.
Baldwin Park Unified officials will attend a University of La Verne signing ceremony from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Thursday, July 20 for the college’s Partnership for Access to College Education (PACE) program, which provides guaranteed admission and financial aid to qualified graduates of participating high schools. Baldwin Park is one of more than a dozen area school districts to join the PACE program, which was launched Jan. 19. PACE waives application fees, offers access to college preparatory courses and offers at least $10,000 in annual financial aid. The signing event is at ULV’s Abraham Campus Center, 2000 2nd St., La Verne.
Follow-up Story: More than 1,000 students at seven Baldwin Park Unified elementary and middle schools took part in a monthlong enrichment program in June that included a camping trip to San Clemente State Beach, exploring a planetary research station and discovering the history of locomotives and Western railroads. The activities, offered to K-8 students through a partnership with THINK Together, centered on standards-based learning, interactive science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) projects and healthy living to combat summer learning loss. THINK Together is the largest provider of expanded learning programs in California.
