El Monte Union Principal to Retire after 35 Years at the District
Arroyo High School Principal Angelita Gonzales, who has been the top administrator at the school since 2013, will retire from the District at the end of the 2019-20 school year. Gonzales began her career at El Monte Union in 1984, when she was hired as an English language development teacher at Rosemead High. Gonzales filled many roles at the District over the years before coming to Arroyo, where she has overseen numerous praiseworthy instructional programs. Arroyo received a Gold Ribbon from the California Department of Education in 2017 for its visual and performing arts program.
El Monte Union Senior Recognized as 2020 Dell Scholar
Arroyo High School senior Yvette Martinez has been recognized as a 2020 Dell Scholar by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. Martinez will receive $20,000, spread over four years, a laptop and access to Dell Scholars Connect, a mentoring network that offers year-round support from current and former Dell Scholars. Martinez is leaning towards attending UC Berkeley, where she plans to study public health and public safety.
El Monte Union served 67,960 breakfast and lunch meals from three schools – Arroyo, El Monte and South El Monte – during the first three weeks of the school dismissal period¬, with officials committed to continuing the District’s successful nutrition program through the end of the 2019-20 school year. Acting on recommendation from state, county and public health officials, El Monte Union on March 13 initiated its dismissal period starting March 16 to limit the spread of COVID-19 and promote social distancing. The District has since extended the dismissal period for the remainder of the school year.
El Monte Union Senior Earns Early Acceptance to Stanford University
South El Monte High School senior Santiago Alvillar has been accepted as a member of Stanford University’s Class of 2024 through its Restrictive Early Action program. Stanford, the most competitive university to gain acceptance to, has an admission rate nearing or below 5%. Alvillar, a student-athlete who also takes college night classes after school, plans to major in engineering physics with a specialty in Quantum Science and minor in environmental systems engineering.
El Monte Union Senior Awarded Prestigious QuestBridge Scholarship
El Monte High School senior Dana Hua is a competitive computer coding hacker who sacrifices sleep to develop praiseworthy apps and educational games. Those long hours have finally paid off for the first-generation college-goer, who is among 1,127 seniors (out of 15,000 applicants) to be awarded the 2019 QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship. To top it off, Hua has been accepted to Stanford University. The scholarship, worth over $200,000 over four years, will cover tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies.
When El Monte High School senior Dana Hua competes in a 24-hour computer coding hackathon, her ambition and drive compel her to sacrifice sleep so she can concentrate on helping her teammates develop praiseworthy apps and games that are educational and fun. Those long hours of hard work have finally paid off. Hua – a first-generation college-goer with a 4.41 GPA and 1550 SAT score – is among 1,127 seniors (out of 15,000 applicants) to be awarded the 2019 QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship, guaranteeing her a full four-year ride to a college partner.
South El Monte High School senior Santiago Alvillar has been fascinated with science, technology, engineering and math since he was a young child reading his older siblings’ high school textbooks. Now he has the opportunity to study the disciplines in Silicon Valley, learning from some of the country’s top educators at one of the most elite universities in the world. Alvillar, a first-generation college student, has been accepted as a member of Stanford University’s Class of 2024 through its Restrictive Early Action program. Stanford, which has an admission rate nearing or below 5%, will cover all expenses.
Rosemead High School is one of approximately 1,800 schools worldwide to offer the AP Capstone Diploma program, a sequence of two year-long courses that will enable students to hone skills critical to academic and professional success – research, collaboration, writing, evidence-based arguments and communication. Created and endorsed by more than 250 top U.S. universities – including Harvard, Yale, UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley, Princeton, Colorado State, Stanford and Duke¬ – the College Board program consists of two courses taken in sequence: AP Seminar and AP Research.
Surrounded by close family, friends, teachers and Viking supporters, Mountain View High School senior Erika “Kika” Rivera on Feb. 4 signed her letter of intent to play softball at Pomona Pitzer College, an NCAA Division III university, where she has earned an academic scholarship. Rivera – who has enjoyed a decorated career as a varsity scholar athlete in softball and soccer – is a member of the Associated Student Body (ASB) and is among the top 10 of her graduating class, earning a cumulative 3.91 GPA.
El Monte Unified High School School to Launch AP Capstone Program
Rosemead High School is one of approximately 1,800 schools worldwide to implement the Advanced Placement Capstone Diploma program, which will allow students to develop skills critical to college success, such as research, collaboration and communication. The program consists of two courses taken in sequence: AP Seminar and AP Research. Rosemead will launch the AP Seminar course in fall 2020 and AP Research in fall 2021.
