South Hills High School American Sign Language (ASL) teacher Sonya Wilson has always been determined to explore new opportunities and pursue her passions, despite the challenges posed by her Deafness. Wilson views being Deaf in the outdoors as an asset because it heightens her senses and connects her with her surroundings as she pursues her biggest passion: rock climbing. Wilson’s love for climbing was sparked after she took an outdoor class in her sophomore year at Azusa Pacific University. She became fascinated by the equipment and the excitement she felt when climbing. However, Wilson quickly realized how difficult it was to find people willing to climb with a Deaf climber. Wilson's challenges inspired her creation of the ASL Climbing Network in 2012, a Facebook group intended for Deaf climbers and ASL signers that aims to cultivate a community of individuals who share a love for climbing and to organize meetups.
Three Covina-Valley Unified School District sites will have dynamic new principals as Terry Abernathy leads South Hills High School, Nick Garcia steps in at Sierra Vista Middle School, and Dr. Leo Magallón takes over at Northview High School for the 2023-24 school year. All three principals were unanimously approved during a Board of Education meeting on April 10. They will start their new positions on July 1, 2023.
Covina High Senior Named National Merit Scholarship Finalist
Covina High School senior Heidi Alhannat dreams of breaking down barriers and showing others that they can do anything they set their minds to. This passion has driven Alhannat to outstanding achievement in her academic and personal pursuits, earning her recognition as a National Merit Scholarship finalist. Alhannat has been accepted to several prestigious schools, including Harvard University and Stanford University. Both schools boasted incredibly low acceptance rates for the 2022-23 applying class, with Harvard maintaining a 3.4% acceptance rate according to Crimson Education, and Stanford holding a 3.7% acceptance rate according to the Stanford Daily.
Covina-Valley Unified's Fairvalley High School has earned re-designation as a Model Continuation High School (MCHS) from the California Department of Education (CDE) in 2023, celebrating the impact of its innovative, student-first programming, and focus on college and career readiness. Fairvalley High was one of 37 continuation schools distinguished as a 2023 Model Continuation High School, announced by the CDE on Feb. 14. The MCHS Recognition Program honors continuation schools that provide comprehensive services to at-risk youth through outstanding programs, instructional strategies, flexible scheduling, and guidance and counseling services.
Covina-Valley Unified School District’s exemplary reading program ranked highly in the California Reading Coalition California Reading Report Card, which was released on March 23. Out of 285 of the most populous school districts in the state, C-VUSD ranked fifth in the state and third in Los Angeles County. Covina-Valley Unified earned its ranking for its strong number of high-need students that met or exceeded grade-level standards on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress and English language arts testing in 2021-22.
Covina-Valley Unified has become a well-known destination for young adults passionate about community service across the San Gabriel Valley, thanks to the District’s Public Safety Pathway and its partnership with the San Gabriel Valley Law Enforcement Academy. Both the pathway and academy are designed to give young adults insight into a public safety career and are hosted at Northview High School.
South Hills High School students are learning the unique skill sets they need to thrive in the world of business thanks to the school’s Business Management Career Technical Education pathway, which offers students the chance to learn and grow by operating as real companies. The pathway consists of four classes: Entrepreneurship, Sports Management, International Baccalaureate Business Management, and Virtual Enterprise. Virtual Enterprise, the most advanced class in the pathway, groups students into different functional departments -- including executive office, marketing, design, finance, and human resources -- and challenges them to design and develop a product of their own. Students can take the Virtual Enterprise class multiple times to gain experience in different business roles and with different business plans.
C-VUSD’s Fairvalley High Renews Model Continuation School Status
Fairvalley High School was honored for its commitment to social-emotional learning and college and career readiness when the California Department of Education redesignated Fairvalley as a Model Continuation High School. Fairvalley High has maintained its status as a Model Continuation School since it first qualified for the honor in the early 2000s. It was one of 37 California schools to earn the distinction this year.
South Hills High School senior Saniya Tillis developed a passion for service and improving the world at an early age, creating service clubs and volunteering at homeless shelters as an elementary school student. Tillis continues to work with at-risk families – through her own nonprofit Students Uplifting Students, which advocates for students experiencing homelessness. Tillis will take her entrepreneurial mind and service-based leadership to Northwestern University after being named a 2023 Posse Foundation scholar, one of just 10 Posse Los Angeles Chapter members to receive a full-ride scholarship to the prestigious university. Tillis plans to major in economics with a minor in business institutions to achieve her dream of becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Covina-Valley Unified students, families, and dignitaries were greeted with a red carpet and balloons as they gathered at the new C-VUSD Health and Wellness Center for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 30, marking a new chapter in the District’s history of increasing access to vital mental and physical wellness resources. The Health and Wellness Center, located at the former Lark Ellen Elementary School, has been in development for the past year. The space will offer students and families services and resources that help eliminate barriers to school success, including medical screenings, mental health screenings, counseling services, and more.
