Follow-up Story: Community leaders joined students at Baldwin Park Unified schools for reading adventures during the annual Read Across America celebration, held Feb. 27 to March 3. Parent volunteers Martha Cardenas and Eloisa Jimenez posed as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from “The Cat in the Hat” to greet guest readers at Santa Fe Elementary. Those invited were asked to bring a personally significant childhood book to share with a classroom of their choice. A total of 18 readers participated in Santa Fe’s Read-in event, including Baldwin Park Unified staff, former students, former employees, parents and community members. Baldwin Park Unified police dispatcher Issac Salazar read to a class of sixth-graders. At Kenmore Elementary School, eager kindergarteners donned hats to honor the Cat in the Hat as Baldwin Park police Officer Martin Herrera read them “Green Eggs and Ham.”
Follow-up Story: Diana E. Dzib, a high school coordinator at Mt. San Antonio College, took the oath of office on Feb. 14 as the newest member of the Baldwin Park Unified Board of Education. At Mt. SAC, Dzib assists with accreditation activities, serves as a classified staff senator and is a member of the Adult Education Block Grant consortia, which includes representatives from Baldwin Park Unified. She has lived in the district for 30 years; her son attended Baldwin Park schools. Dzib fills a vacancy created when Board Member Blanca Estela Rubio resigned in December 2016 to take a seat in the California Assembly. Dzib will serve until the board’s November 2017 election.
About 130 educators from 18 Baldwin Park Unified schools participated in an intensive, two-day workshop in January on ways to effectively connect with all students and ensure they understand the high standards built into the District’s rigorous curriculum. The workshop, which explored the Response to Intervention (RTI) program’s multi-tiered system of instruction, was provided by internationally known educator Mike Mattos, one of the founding leaders of RTI and professional learning communities, a system fostering collaboration among teachers to improve student performance.
Follow-up Story: About 200 fathers and daughters attended Foster Elementary School’s second annual Father Daughter Dance on Friday, Feb. 3, an evening of dining and dancing at the Julia McNeill Senior Center. The event helped build community connections and strengthen family bonds.
Follow-up Story: Clad in whimsical costumes and reciting the works of esteemed writers like J.K. Rowling and Shel Silverstein, 29 Margaret Heath Elementary School students entertained classmates during the school’s annual Poetry Festival on Feb. 23. Students from transitional kindergarten to sixth grade recited short poems, including some in Spanish, on topics ranging from video games to Walt Disney characters. The recitals included five students who read their original compositions. The festival, inspired by a retired school teacher, has been a Heath tradition for 20 years. Photos are available.
Follow-up Story: Baldwin Park Unified’s Walnut Elementary School on Jan. 27 became the District’s 11th campus to kick off a new discipline system designed to reinforce positive behaviors and boost academic success. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) emphasizes ways of teaching students behavioral expectations and reinforces those lessons with praise and incentives. Walnut teachers trained for the launch for more than a year. The school held six kick-off assemblies – one for each grade – starting at 8:15 a.m. Examples of behavior expectations were demonstrated through videos followed by school tours with mini-lessons on expected behaviors around school, such as picking up after lunch.
Baldwin Park Unified’s Board of Education on Tuesday selected Diana E. Dzib, a high school coordinator at Mt. San Antonio College, to fill a vacancy created when board member Blanca Estela Rubio resigned in December 2016 to take a seat in the California Assembly. At Mt. SAC, Dzib also serves as a classified staff senator, assists with accreditation activities and is a member of the Adult Education Block Grant consortia, which includes representatives from Baldwin Park Unified. She has lived in the district for 30 years; her son attended Baldwin Park schools. Dzib holds a juris doctorate and a master of arts in education/curriculum and instruction. She is a former college adjunct instructor and juvenile hall substitute teacher.
H. Vincent Pratt, principal of Baldwin Park Unified’s North Park Continuation High School, has been honored as a January Educator of the Month by the Los Angeles Lakers. Pratt, who has been with Baldwin Park Unified for eight years, is a 20-year educator who focuses on building relationships with students and collaborations with the community to help students achieve their potential. Pratt was nominated by North Park health clerk Jeremiah I. Urista, who noted how the principal greets every student with a handshake each morning. North Park, an alternative school for juniors and seniors who face significant life challenges, has been designated a Model Continuation School by California.
The Baldwin Park Adult and Community Education (BPACE) Older Adult Program, in association with the City of Baldwin Park, will welcome 400 community members to a Year of the Rooster celebration of Chinese New Year from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 27 at the Performing Arts Center, 4640 N. Main Ave., Baldwin Park. It will feature welcoming remarks from BPACE Senior Director Dr. John Kerr and the following performances: A piano recital, a Wah Wu fan dance, Chinese folk dance, tango fan dance, Ijianmei sword dance, Tai Hu Mei umbrella dance, Kangdin love song, lucky dance and a lion dance. Performances are by BPACE students, instructors and community groups. At the end of the program, dim sum and green tea will be served.
Follow-up Story: About 40 parents and students of Baldwin Park Unified’s Central Elementary School took part in a Family College and STEM Night on Jan. 19 thanks to a partnership with a group of community volunteers. Parents participated in a workshop on college attendance while students engaged in a STEM activity. The volunteers have shared their talents at Baldwin Park schools for three years, primarily through student assemblies in science, technology, engineering and math. This year, the group began evening workshops to engage parents as well. Two more evening events will be held this spring. Photos are available. Photos are available.
