Four Fontana Unified high schools were recognized by the College Board as Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Roll schools, highlighting the District’s commitment to fostering a college-going culture across its campuses, based on data compiled from the schools’ Class of 2023 graduates. Summit High School earned a Silver Award, while Fontana, A.B Miller and Henry J. Kaiser high schools were honored with Bronze Awards. Summit, Fontana and Kaiser also earned the AP Access Award, which recognizes the schools for providing underrepresented students access to advanced coursework. Of the three Honor Roll data sets, Fontana Unified schools scored the most impressive marks in college optimization, with Summit earning platinum status, Kaiser gold, A.B. Miller silver and Fontana High bronze.
Fontana Unified Jurupa Hills Football Team to Play for CIF State Title
Jurupa Hills High School football will look to add to its trophy case in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division 4-AA State Championship Bowl Game against Soquel High School at Pasadena City College’s Robinson Stadium at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8. The Spartans have already won the CIF Southern Section Division 8 and CIF State Division 4-AA Southern California Regional championships this season. Jurupa Hills is one of 30 high school teams still playing football across California, and carry a 9-6 record into its final of the game of the year against a 12-2 Soquel squad. Robinson Stadium is located at 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena.
Fontana High School students will visit the Citrus Nursing Center (CNC) to spread holiday cheer to residents. Students in Fontana High’s Steelers for Christ (SFC), a religious club on campus, ballet folklórico, cheerleading, choir and nursing programs will put on performances and deliver gifts to residents. SFC has been organizing and gathering donations of stuffed animals and other gifts for CNC residents before the District heads into winter break. Fontana High’s choir and ballet folklórico students will also put on performances for the residents.
More than 580 Fontana Unified School District seniors who are set to earn the California State Seal of Biliteracy for a high level of proficiency in bilingualism and biliteracy were recognized by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools during a recent ceremony. Seniors from all seven Fontana Unified high schools – Fontana, A.B. Miller, Henry J. Kaiser, Summit, Jurupa Hills, Citrus and Eric Birch – were honored at the ceremony and received a certificate and medal from the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools on Nov. 1. The nearly 600 Fontana Unified seniors honored this year marked a more than 200% increase over the last two years, when 180 Fontana Unified seniors were recognized at the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools event in 2021.
Fontana Unified School District’s tradition of sharing holiday cheer with local families will continue with its 26th annual Fontana Santas Toy Distribution. The Fontana Santas Toy Drive will culminate with a drive-thru event, to be held from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16 at the District office where families in need identified by schools will enjoy a festive holiday celebration as they receive age-appropriate gifts. Donations of unwrapped toys and gift cards can be dropped off at the Fontana School Police Department, located at the District Office, 9680 Citrus Ave., Building 9, Fontana.
Four Fontana Unified School District high school students have distinguished themselves as some of the best high school musicians across Southern California, earning spots in Pasadena City College’s 2024 Tournament of Roses Honor Band. Henry J. Kaiser High School senior David Mireles (marching snare drum), sophomore Liliana Lobo (euphonium) and Jurupa Hills High School senior Antonio De La Torre (baritone sax) and sophomore Diego Muro (clarinet) all qualified to march with the Tournament of Roses Honor Band in the 135th edition of the iconic Rose Parade on New Year’s Day.
Fontana Unified School District will host a dedication ceremony of the O’Day Short Family Unity Garden to commemorate the lives of O’Day, Helen, Carol Ann and Barry Short. The unity garden will also serve as a symbol of an ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion by Randall Pepper Elementary School and the greater Fontana Unified community. The Short family is remembered for breaking Fontana’s color barrier in 1945. All four members of the African-American family died after their house burst into flames on Dec. 16, 1945. The Short family purchased and began building a home on a vacant, five-acre lot at Randall Avenue and Pepper Avenue in Fontana at a time when African-Americans were forbidden to live south of Baseline Avenue. The Short family received threats of violence and offers from the Chamber of Commerce to buy back the property before their house was set ablaze. An arson investigator hired by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) determined the fire was deliberately set from the exterior, according to a 2016 article from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Randall Pepper Elementary School was later built on the site in 1950.
Students Summit High School’s Madrigal Choir will put on the performance of a lifetime, letting their voices shine at the prestigious California Music Educators Association’s (CMEA) All-State Honor Festival and drawing the curtain on a two-year-long dream turned reality. The All-State Honor Festival, which will be hosted at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center on April 26, 2024, is an exclusive opportunity, with the CMEA choosing only six or seven high school choirs to perform from the entire state. Only schools that received a superior rating from a festival the previous year were eligible to apply.
Southridge Tech Middle School has been redesignated as a Microsoft Showcase School, reaffirming the school’s commitment to providing its students with access to digital platforms and bridging the technology gap. Southridge Tech was first designated in 2018. Southridge Tech is one of just three schools in California and 30 schools across the United States to receive the designation in 2023, joining a global network of schools from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Australia.
Michael McGinnis dedicated his life to protecting others as a firefighter and then empowering the next generation of public servants to do the same, playing an instrumental role in developing Fontana High School’s Fire, Medical and Emergency Response pathway as its fire technology and career technical education (CTE) instructor. The Fontana Unified School District Board of Education ensured the legacy of McGinnis, who died in 2021, will not be forgotten when they unanimously voted at a recent meeting to rename Fontana High’s Fire Technology and Emergency Services classroom to McGinnis Station 815.
