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Bonita Unified School District

  • Bonita Unified ProStart Culinary Students Display Skills at ‘The Grateful Table’ Fundraiser

    Bonita Unified ProStart culinary students rubbed elbows with some of the top executive chefs and restauranteurs in the state as they displayed their award-winning skills at the California Restaurant Foundation’s (CRF) biggest fundraiser of the year, The Grateful Table, which raised nearly $300,000 to support California Cares, a relief fund for California restaurant workers. Held in September at the Del Mar Racetrack, The Grateful Table saw ProStart students from San Dimas and Bonita high schools work side by side with many renowned California chefs, including guest of honor Guy Fieri, to prepare a gourmet meal while BUSD ProStart alumni worked the front of the house, providing an exquisite experience for the event’s VIP guests and donors. San Dimas and Bonita were the only schools chosen to participate in this year’s event.

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  • Bonita Unified Board of Education Welcomes 2025-26 Student Representatives

    Bonita High School senior Savannah Morua, Chaparral-Vista High School senior Rachelle Torres, and San Dimas High School senior Jacob Pardus stepped into new leadership roles during the Bonita Unified Board of Education meeting on Oct. 8, cheered on by their peers as they took the oath of office to serve as the Board’s student representatives for the 2025-26 school year. Morua, Torres, and Pardus – who are all part of their campus’ Associated Student Body (ASB) or Renaissance leadership classes – will serve as the voices of their peers on a District level, attending regular Board meetings to provide reports on campus news and share feedback or concerns.

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  • Bonita Unified Students Get a Taste of Farm-Fresh Knowledge at Mini Farmers Markets

    Bonita Unified School District is bringing farm-fresh produce and nutrition education directly to students through new Mini Farmers Markets at various BUSD school sites, supported by a $3,000 California Farm to School Incubator grant. In partnership with Old Grove Orange – a local produce supplier that serves all BUSD campuses – Grace Miller Elementary hosted the first event on Sept. 26, where students were presented with locally grown fruits and vegetables, learned about their nutritional benefits, and gained a better understanding of where their food comes from. The next Mini Farmers Market will take place Nov. 12 at Allen Avenue Elementary.

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Bonita Unified Football Teams to Showcase School Spirit in 52nd Annual Smudge Pot Rivalry Game

As the 2024-25 school year gets underway in Bonita Unified School District, the countdown is officially on for the 52nd chapter of the storied Smudge Pot Rivalry Game between the Bonita and San Dimas high school football teams. The annual, friendly rivalry is a District staple, celebrating school unity by showcasing not only the athletic but artistic talents of its students. The game features spirited halftime performances from the schools’ cheer and dance teams, marching band, and color guards that reflect the rich culture at both Bonita and San Dimas high schools.

Bonita Unified Female Athletes Ready to Dominate in Inaugural Flag Football Season

It appeared to be a typical summer football practice at Bonita and San Dimas high schools, with new and returning players performing running and passing drills, conferring with their coaches, and looking to find team spirit and chemistry as the teams prepare for the 2024-25 football seasons. This year, however, it is not just the boys suiting up in football jerseys, looking to make memories. Female athletes now have the thrill of making a touchdown run or maintaining a goal line stand, following the official CIF Southern Section debut of girls flag football in August after a year as a pilot program. Both Bonita and San Dimas are fielding teams and ready to battle for a CIF championship.

Bonita Unified Launches 2024-25 School Year with Lively Celebrations, New Courses

Some 10,000 students returned to Bonita Unified School District campuses for the start of the 2024-25 school year on Aug. 19, which saw transitional kindergarten students sharing tearful hugs with their parents as they began their educational journeys and seniors taking selfies and watching the sun rise together on their final first day of high school. Teachers at Ekstrand, La Verne Heights, and Shull elementary schools welcomed a new class of transitional kindergartners with enthusiastic hugs and high fives, while returning students wasted no time in greeting each other and delivering flower and candy gifts to their new teachers. At Bonita High School, a large contingent from its Class of 2025 assembled bright and early for the school’s annual Senior Sunrise celebration, held at Glenn Davis Stadium. Under a scoreboard displaying '2025,' friends reconnected, spread out on blankets, listened to music, and played games, all while catching the spirit for their final year of high school.

Bonita Unified Students Sharpen Skills in Summer Career Technical Education Workshops

Bonita Unified students looking to get a head start on college and career have taken advantage of several summer workshops and programs designed to spark interest in career technical education (CTE) fields, including industrial and manufacturing engineering, auto repair, architecture, theater, interior design, welding, mentoring, and waste management. Cal Poly Pomona, Citrus College, Mt. SAC and the Claremont Colleges are among the local campuses providing guidance and instructors to assist students in finding their passion in diverse fields that can lead to lucrative careers. More than 100 BUSD students participated in programs over the summer.

Bonita Unified Student Surprised with $40,000 College Board Scholarship

When Bonita High School rising junior Abigail Park was summoned to the BUSD District Office with her father, she thought she was being nominated for an extracurricular award. Instead, Park was greeted by College Board representatives, who surprised her with a $40,000 scholarship on July 25, as part of its BigFuture college and career planning campaign. High school students across the country are encouraged to go online and complete a series of quizzes and lists, with each student entry qualifying them to earn a scholarship. Two students are selected each month at random to receive a $40,000 scholarship. Park is active in Bonita’s hip-hop club, plays clarinet in the BHS band, and is president and co-founder of Bonita High’s Eco Club.

Meet the Brandlers: Bonita Unified’s Award-Winning ProStart Culinary Arts Teachers

Two Bonita Unified ProStart culinary students demonstrated their prowess in the kitchen, whipping up gastronomic delights for attendees of the California Restaurant Foundation’s annual Culinary Clash fundraiser and walking away with top prizes during the event, which raised more than $90,000 for culinary arts programs in California public high schools. Bonita High School rising senior Charli Padilla won the Golden Plate Award for best presentation and San Dimas High School Class of 2024 graduate Kiana Conway won the Culinary Perfect Puree Champ Award for best use of a sponsor product. This is the second consecutive year that Bonita Unified ProStart students have taken home top awards at the Culinary Clash, held this year on June 7 at the Coca-Cola headquarters in Irvine.

Bonita Unified School District Voted a San Gabriel Valley ‘Favorite School District’ for Second Year

Bonita Unified was recognized for the second year in a row as a San Gabriel Valley “Favorite School District” in the Southern California News Group 2024 Readers' Choice Awards, celebrating the District’s commitment to fostering students’ holistic growth through a high-quality education. Bonita Unified earned several state and national academic accolades in the 2023-24 school year, including a National Blue Ribbon School, a 2024 Model Continuation High School, and a 2024 California Distinguished School.

San Dimas High School Students Win Cash Prizes for International ‘Unsung Heroes’ Art Competition

San Dimas High School advanced art students spent months learning about themselves as individuals and as artists as they created artworks centered on historical figures for the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes (LMC) ninth annual ARTEFFECT art competition. Class of 2024 graduate Sophia Cabalfin and rising senior Vanessa Hoyt stood out among hundreds of submissions for their creations and were recognized on May 29 in front of classmates and family, as well as leaders from LMC Unsung Heroes and ARTEFFECT, who hosted the surprise visit over Zoom.

Bonita Unified Appoints New Principals, Senior Director for 2024-25

Bonita Unified School District announced four new administrators who will step into new roles or join the District for the 2024-25 school year during the June 12 Board of Education meeting. Phil Heng will serve as Gladstone Elementary School’s principal in 2024-25 after serving as assistant principal at San Dimas High for three years; April Leon joins Roynon Elementary as its principal after five years in the role at Covina-Valley Unified School District; and Christine Wilson will serve as Shull Elementary’s principal following five years as a school administrator in Chino Valley Unified School District. Jessicka Mears comes to Bonita Unified as the new senior director of specialized services after serving as a special education administrator in Compton Unified School District.