El Monte High School special education teacher Raelene Felix was recently recognized with the Exceptional Special Education Teacher Award by the West San Gabriel Valley Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) consortium for her tireless advocacy on behalf of special education and for her dedication to her students’ academic and socioemotional success. Felix works with students in the Career Skills Prep Academy (CSPA), established in 2014 at El Monte High School to assist students with mild to moderate disabilities who are not on track to earn a diploma and are not meeting core standards.
El Monte Union hosted a Mad City Money event on Nov. 2 at El Monte High School, providing students with the opportunity to understand business and finance through a hands-on simulation. The event allowed students to make financial mistakes as a way of helping them learn what not to do in real life. Students had a career, salary, spouse, student loan debt, credit card debt and medical insurance premiums. Students experienced unexpected windfalls and unplanned expenses, just like real life.
El Monte Union’s Mountain View High to Host Community Resource Fair
Mountain View High School will host a community resource fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13 in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. The event will feature a construction trades and jobs fair, health services, blood pressure screening and after-school program information. Mountain View is at 2900 Parkway Drive, El Monte.
Mountain View High School hosted a tree planting ceremony as part of a grant provided by the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. More than 60 students participated in the planting of 30 trees. The trees will contribute to Mountain View’s Farm-to-Table Culinary Arts CTE activities, bolster the school's National Wildlife Federation Eco-Schools designation, and expand the District's ongoing efforts to “Go Green” by creating a healthier, more sustainable environment in which to study, live and work.
Bassett High Teacher Receives $20,000 to Enhance English Programs
El Monte Union High School District is supporting the state’s High School Voter Education Week by promoting civic engagement and education at its schools, which will serve as early voter registration sites for 16- and 17-year-old students in September. The Board of Trustees declared Sept. 17-28, 2018 as EMUHSD High School Voter Education Week. Students can pre-register to vote at their high school campus, automatically becoming active voters when they turn 18. The District has partnered with advocacy group OCA-Greater Los Angeles to provide voter registration support and training to select student leaders who will promote civic engagement in the schools and classrooms.
Beginning this school year, El Monte Union is transitioning to a new meal program that will provide all
students, regardless of income, with free breakfast and lunch. The change comes in response to Senate
Bill 138, signed into law in January 2018 requiring school districts in high-poverty areas to provide free
meal service to all students. Applications for free and reduced-price meals are available at each school, the District office and on the District Nutrition Services website at https://bit.ly/2NyayY3.
The El Monte Union High School District is supporting the state’s High School Voter Education Weeks by promoting civic engagement and education at its schools, which will serve as early voter registration sites for 16- and 17-year-old students in September. The Board of Trustees passed a resolution earlier this year declaring Sept. 17-28 as a time when students can pre-register to vote on their high school campus so they will automatically become active voters once they turn 18. The District has partnered with advocacy group OCA-Greater Los Angeles to provide voter registration support and training to select student leaders who will promote civic engagement in the schools and classrooms
El Monte Union Partners with Law Enforcement on Campus Safety
El Monte Union collaborates with local law enforcement, including the El Monte Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, to ensure campuses are safe and students are prepared for any circumstance. The Sheriff’s Department recently held an active shooter training session at Rosemead High School, and the El Monte Police Department conducted an active shooter session for students at El Monte, Arroyo and Mountain View high schools. Lockdown drills were also performed.
Members of South El Monte High School’s inaugural Early College Academy – conducted in partnership with Rio Hondo College – will tour the Whittier campus, visit career technical education classes, participate in a time management workshop and meet staff on Sept. 7. Under the Early College plan, SEMHS students can earn a high school diploma and up to two years of college credit in four years, or about 40 credits, which are transferable to UCs or CSUs. Students can take the college-level general education courses for free at South El Monte High or at the Rio Hondo College campus, reducing the cost of attaining a college degree.
English teacher and Advancement Via Individual Determination coordinator Cesar Castellanos’ reputation for empowering students to realize their dreams of attaining a college education has earned him El Monte Union High School District’s highest honor: 2018-19 Teacher of the Year.
