Bonita Unified ProStart culinary students and alumni continued to make delectable gains during summer break after a successful appearance at the 14th annual California Restaurant Foundation (CRF) Culinary Clash, as they designed gourmet meals while collaborating with industry professionals and making connections. The Culinary Clash, which raised more than $95,000 for high school culinary programs at this year’s event, pairs ProStart students, who serve as sous chefs, with restaurant executives for a three-month CRF mentorship. Beginning with original ideas brought by the students, teams work to create a dazzling menu item, using certain required ingredients, then plate their creations at a festive outdoor tasting event, where attendees sample and then vote for their favorite student/industry combinations.
Bonita Unified School District kicked off its 2025-26 school year on Aug. 18 in grand style, welcoming approximately 10,000 students from transitional kindergarten (TK) to 12th grade with smiles, hugs, and activities meant to foster a strong sense of community and new levels of excellence. The new school year festivities began with an orientation for the District’s youngest learners on Aug. 14, when they met their teachers and classmates, received tours of their new campuses, played games, and acclimated themselves to their new environments.
Bonita High School senior Aaron Edwards loves to dance. As a member of the school’s award-winning D Street Dance Team since he was a sophomore, dance has transformed Edwards’ life. Presented a chance to share his enthusiasm and talent with young children, this summer Edwards served as a dance instructor and volunteer for the Project Think Academic Enrichment Program, held at Pitzer College in Claremont. Working primarily with children ages four to six, Edwards introduced them to basic dance moves and choreographed a short routine that culminated in a Project Think student dance performance. At the end of the summer session, Edwards was joined by his D Street classmates for an exclusive performance for Project Think students and staff.
When Bonita High School Class of 2022 graduate Alexa Garcia arrived at UCLA for her freshman year, she was hoping to find community among the nearly 46,000 students inhabiting the university’s vast campus. Now a senior at UCLA, Garcia eventually found her way to MedReach, a UCLA outreach organization whose students serve as mentors for L.A.-area high school students interested in pursuing a career in the healthcare industry. MedReach offers six “Ready for Healthcare” seminars during the year, both online and in-person, where high school students learn about short-term and long-term careers in the medical field, learn medical terminology through puzzles and games, and examine case studies to observe doctor-patient interaction.
SAN DIMAS/LA VERNE – Bonita Unified students looking to get a head start on college and career planning received expert guidance in auto repair, architecture, and engineering through career technical education (CTE) summer academies at Citrus College and Cal Poly Pomona, with rising juniors and seniors taking weeklong courses designed to spark their interest in lucrative fields.
For its dedication to providing students a rigorous education in a positive learning environment, Bonita Unified has been named a “Favorite School District” in the San Gabriel Valley in the Southern California News Group (SCNG) Readers’ Choice Awards for the third year in a row. Each spring, SCNG newspapers—including the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Pasadena Star-News, and Whittier Daily News—invite readers to vote both online and through print for awards across a range of categories.
Bonita Unified School District will welcome seven new administrators for the 2025-26 school year, including three assistant principals, two principals, an assistant superintendent, and a director of transportation. Bonita Unified has appointed Dr. Kendra Peterson-Broussard as Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Development and James Foster as Director of Transportation. Kaitlyn Trotter will serve as principal of Allen Avenue Elementary, and Orlando Beltran will lead Lone Hill Middle School. The District also welcomed new assistant principals at Ramona Middle School and San Dimas High School. Most recently Director of Human Resources at Centinela Valley Union High School District (CVUHSD), Dr. Peterson-Broussard brings nearly two decades of administrative experience to her new role. She began her career as a middle school teacher before serving as a recruitment specialist with Los Angeles Unified and later as a secondary site administrator in CVUHSD. She has spent the past four years as CVUHSD’s Director of Human Resources, overseeing personnel programs for both certificated and classified staff. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Illinois Chicago, a master’s in educational administration from Cal State Los Angeles, and a doctorate in leadership from USC.
Nearly 500 students filled the stage with energy and enthusiasm during La Verne Heights Elementary School’s 14th annual Dance Festival, a schoolwide showcase celebrating the rich cultural diversity of the school community through music, movement, and tradition. Students from transitional kindergarten (TK) through fifth grade performed in the festival, held in late May. Each grade level showcased a different style of dance, including an African-inspired routine, Ballet Folklórico, the Hawaiian Hukilau, a Scottish jig, a 1950s American square dance, traditional Chinese fan dance, and more.
Two Bonita High School ProStart culinary students looking to flip the script on breakfast menus and transform the meal into an Instagram-worthy food truck experience were named co-grand prize winners at the EcoLab Sunday Night Spotlight “Bites & Beats” competition, which challenged students from across the U.S. to develop unique takes on food truck cuisine and marketing. Bonita High Class of 2025 graduate Charli Padilla and rising junior Abby Brandler won for their food truck concept, “The Flip Side,” a mobile restaurant with two separate menus for day and night, serving tasty twists on classic American breakfast staples paired with bold new breakfast-themed delights created by Padilla and Brandler.
More than 800 graduates from Chaparral-Vista, San Dimas, and Bonita high schools tossed their caps into the evening air as celebratory music swelled, earning thunderous applause during commencement ceremonies on June 3 and 5 that showcased the culture of each campus, shared stories of perseverance, and honored the achievements of Bonita Unified’s Class of 2025. Each high school celebrated graduates’ academic, artistic, and athletic successes, noting CIF championships, a national culinary title, regional and state honors for music, and more. Bonita Unified graduates will pursue higher education at institutions including Notre Dame University, UC Berkeley, Columbia University, Syracuse University, USC, and UCLA; others will enlist in the armed forces or enter the workforce, bolstered by the skills developed in the District’s career technical education pathways.
