Covina-Valley Unified School District and 16 of its schools were honored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond with the 2022 California Pivotal Practice (CAPP) Award, recognizing their successful implementation of innovative practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Winners of the newly created CAPP Award Program were announced on April 26, celebrating a total of 727 schools and 121 school districts for their efforts to support students during the 2020-21 school year, when California schools were required to shift to distance learning. During the pandemic, Covina-Valley Unified focused its efforts on supporting students in four target areas: ensuring their engagement and social emotional well-being, distributing essential technology and providing nutrition services.
Covina-Valley Unified School District Hosts Inaugural Career and Job Fair
Hundreds of parents and students attended the inaugural Covina-Valley Unified School District Career and Job Fair on April 19, where students received guidance on educational and employment opportunities to plan for their futures beyond graduation. Visitors from 46 institutions, including Mt. San Antonio College, the United States Army and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, provided high school students with enrollment information and numerous employment opportunities at the event.
Hundreds of parents and students attended the inaugural Covina-Valley Unified School District Career and Job Fair on April 19, where students received guidance on educational and employment opportunities to plan for their futures beyond graduation. Visitors from 46 institutions, including Mt. San Antonio College, the United States Army and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, provided high school students with enrollment information and numerous employment opportunities at the event.
Covina-Valley Unified has been awarded more than $1 million in funding through the A-G Completion Improvement Grant, advancing the District’s efforts to develop comprehensive programs to increase the number of students who have completed their A-G requirements by graduation. The grant funding, delivered through the California Education Budget Trailer Bill, will support Covina-Valley Unified’s goals of creating a comprehensive college roadmap and calendar for middle- and high-school students, expand the number of tutoring opportunities and summer school A-G course offerings, and ensure low-income students and students of color have equitable access to the District’s most academically rigorous high school programs.
Covina-Valley Unified to Host Inaugural Career and Job Fair
Covina-Valley Unified School District will host its inaugural Career and Job Fair from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19. Students of all ages and their families are invited to attend the event, where they will meet representatives from trade schools, businesses, adult education schools, community colleges and local labor unions, and gain insight on career opportunities and planning. The event will be held at Covina District Field, located at 200 W. Puente St., Covina.
Covina-Valley Unified Wrestlers Excel at CIF State Championship
Northview High School’s wrestling program continues strengthening its status as one of the top high school wrestling teams in the state, wrapping up another historic season at the CIF State Wrestling Championships. Under the leadership of National High School Wrestling Hall of Fame coach David Ochoa and Bobby Bellamy, the team had four athletes place at the CIF State Championships: senior Savannah Lewis, who placed second in the 150-pound weight class; junior Leilani Lazaro, who placed fifth in the 116-pound weight class; senior Adrian Limon, who placed fifth in the 120-pound weight class; and senior Julian Leon, who placed eighth in the 132-pound weight class.
Covina-Valley Unified School District has expanded its metal fabrication career technical education pathway by approving a new capstone course for the District’s high school welding program. The new course will be the third metal fabrication class in the District’s three-year course sequence and will be offered in the fall of 2022 – with an option to begin in the summer of 2022, depending on enrollment – to juniors and seniors at Covina-Valley Unified’s four high schools.
Covina-Valley Unified School District is bolstering its mental wellness efforts through partnering with Yale University’s Center for Emotional Intelligence, which will promote the significance of social and emotional learning across the District. Through this partnership, Covina-Valley Unified has implemented social-emotional taskforces at their schools and aims to teach students and staff the RULER program—an acronym that stands for recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing and regulating emotions. The District has augmented its counseling services since the start of the 2021-22 school year—sharing mental health resources on the District website, opening wellness centers at their schools and employing an on-site counselor at each school to ensure students have the resources they need to support their emotional wellbeing.
Covina High School has named Aaron Berry as its new head football coach, who will bring his winning experience as both a player and a coach to the role. An alumnus of Azusa Pacific University, Berry returns to the San Gabriel Valley to guide the Covina-Valley Unified school’s accomplished program, which won the Sierra League Championship and advanced to the California Interscholastic Federation quarterfinals last year. As Covina High’s head coach, Berry will lead all aspects of the football team and the holistic development of their student-athletes.
Covina-Valley Unified’s Mesa Elementary Celebrates Lunar New Year
More than 700 Covina-Valley Unified students, staff and families gathered at Mesa Elementary School to celebrate the Year of the Tiger by enjoying Chinese cuisine, gifts, and entertainment, bringing forth tidings of good fortune, wealth and longevity. Held on Feb. 4 and Feb. 9, the festivities brought the District community together to honor the history and tradition of Lunar New Year on a campus adorned with red lanterns and artwork.
