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 graduates of participating high schools who meet admission requirements. Baldwin Park is one of more than a dozen Southern California school districts to join University of La Verne’s PACE program, which was launched Jan. 19. The program waives application fees, offers access to college preparatory courses and offers at least $10,000 in annual financial aid. Students will need to meet GPA and SAT/ACT score targets to qualify for admission. The signing event is at ULV’s Abraham Campus Center, 2000 2nd St., La Verne.
Baldwin Park Unified Students Participate in Summer Enrichment Program
Follow-up Story: Baldwin Park Unified students spent the month of June building balloon-powered cars, exploring local science museums and camping on the beach, made possible through a partnership with THINK Together. More than 1,000 students in kindergarten through eighth grade participated in the monthlong program at five school sites with activities that centered on standards-based learning, interactive STEM projects and healthy living. THINK Together is a nonprofit program launched in 1994 to provide after-school and summer enrichment programs for underserved students. Photos are available
Baldwin Park Unified will create a team of curriculum, technology and intervention coaches and hire elementary school assistant principals in 2017-18 as it expands efforts to integrate technology into classrooms and to tailor instruction to student needs. The changes are key elements of the District’s 2017-20 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), unanimously adopted June 27 by the Board of Education. The LCAP guides Baldwin Park Unified’s efforts to improve student outcomes, especially for students from low-income homes, English learners and foster children.
Baldwin Park Unified High Schools Graduate 1,026 in Class of 2017
Follow-up Story: Baldwin Park Unified celebrated the graduation of 1,026 students from Baldwin Park, Sierra Vista and North Park Continuation high schools on May 31 and June 1, sending students off to prestigious colleges across the nation, including the UC system. Graduates include QuestBridge Scholarship winner Jeronimo Reyes, the valedictorian for Sierra Vista High. Some 53 students at the schools also received Seals of Biliteracy, recognizing fluency in two or more languages. Photos are available
Follow-up Story: Baldwin Park Unified’s Tracy Elementary students raised colorful congratulations signs and cheered along to Queen’s “We Are the Champions” as they welcomed 41 of Sierra Vista’s graduating seniors during the high school’s inaugural Senior Walk on May 26. Seniors – wearing their caps and gowns – were greeted by more than 150 third- through fifth-graders and educators, who cheered and waved pom-poms to celebrate the accomplishments of the graduating students. The Senior Walk returned Sierra Vista students to their educational roots to thank teachers for impacting and inspiring their academic careers. At each of the nine feeder elementary schools, more than 230 seniors presented teachers with invitations to attend their June 1 graduation ceremony.
Baldwin Park High School celebrated the graduation of 433 seniors during an evening ceremony on June 1 that featured remarks by salutatorian Sharon Wen Tran, valedictorian Ann Mariel Bautista Pacada and Principal Anthony Ippolito. The event included recognition of 23 students who earned California Seals of Biliteracy, which indicate fluency in at least two languages. In addition, 25 students received $72,750 in local and community-generated scholarships and grants for their colleague endeavors.
Follow-up Story: Sierra Vista High School valedictorian Jeronimo Reyes, speaking to classmates at the school’s June 1 commencement, detailed the importance of improving the world through education, lessons learned and forgotten, the impact of helpful teachers and the philosophy of friendship delivered by the high school comedy “Mean Girls.” The event recognized the academic achievement of the school’s 408 graduating seniors, who were adorned with colorful leis, elaborately decorated caps and cheerful smiles as they earned their long-awaited diplomas to the roaring applause of more than 1,000 attendees. Photos are available
More than 180 graduating seniors received diplomas during an emotionally charged commencement at North Park Continuation High School on May 31 that featured an interlude during which students bestowed orchid leis on family, friends and mentors to recognize their support. The high school graduated 185 students, topping its 2016 graduation rate of 92 percent – one of the highest for continuation schools in the region.
Baldwin Park Unified Students to Receive Hundreds of Wireless Devices
Baldwin Park Unified School District high school students are set to receive 300 wireless devices, coupled with free internet service, for the 2017-18 school year and hundreds more devices for the following four school years through Spring’s 1Million Project, which seeks to put 1 million digital tools in the hands of economically disadvantaged students across the nation.
Baldwin Park High Schools Hold 2017 Commencement Exercises
Baldwin Park Unified will hold graduation ceremonies for its three high schools on Wednesday, May 31 and Thursday, June 1. North Park Continuation High School’s ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. May 31, at North Park High, 4600 Bogart Ave. Baldwin Park High will hold its commencement at 5:30 p.m. June 1 at the school’s Ted K. Gorrell Stadium, 3900 N. Puente Ave. Sierra Vista’s ceremony will start at 7 p.m. June 1 at the Sierra Vista High Stadium, 3600 N. Frazier St.
