Fontana Unified School District and the City of Fontana are partnering with community stakeholders to create a Community Round Table, giving residents and local leaders the opportunity to come together to address concerns and seek solutions that support diversity, inclusivity and compassion throughout Fontana. The joint effort to foster a more cohesive, respectful sense of community was announced following a recent exchange between a Fontana Unified student and teacher, related to the use of a racially insensitive word, that was recorded and shared on social media.
Citrus High School student-athletes hit all the big shots and showed all the right moves during an inspiring 2023 basketball season that saw the team go undefeated with a 13-0 record, on their way to the Inland Empire Alternative Schools League (IEASL) championship. The Jaguars dominated their competition, outscoring them 686 to 337 during their unbeaten streak, highlighted by a stifling defense that on two separate occasions held their opponents to 16 points. This is the second year in a row that a Fontana Unified school has won the IEASL title, following Eric Birch High School’s championship season in 2022.
When Kaiser High School senior Matthew Basilio was in middle school, he was asked to make a tough choice: to continue to play the clarinet, which he had studied since elementary school, or take up the bass clarinet. Basilio’s decision to switch instruments catapulted him into the upper stratosphere of music performers. This year, Basilio was selected to perform with the California Band Directors Association All-State High School Honor Concert Band – becoming the first Kaiser High musician in school history to earn the honor, which included being named first chair bass clarinetist.
Jurupa Hills High School TV Production students Kira Flores and Eddie Lopez rose early every Saturday for months so that they could film students participating in the Fontana Leadership Intervention Program (FLIP), a 16-week enrichment camp for at-promise teenagers. Originally looking to provide a short video for a FLIP graduation ceremony, Flores and Lopez realized they had enough compelling footage to produce a standalone documentary, “FLIP,” that tracks the personal journey of several FLIP students as they learn life skills through the program. “FLIP” was one of three Spartan TV Production videos to be screened at the San Bernardino Valley College 2023 International Student Film Festival in early March, and received four award nominations.
Fontana Unified to Host Inaugural Film Festival for K-12 Students
Fontana Unified School District will host its first-ever Film Festival, providing K-12 students with the opportunity to express their creativity, develop their artistic and technical skills and showcase their work among their peers. The festival, to be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 5 at Steelworkers Auditorium, invites students of all ages to submit entries in a variety of genres, including narrative/live action drama, sports video, comedy, avant-garde, news story/feature piece and more. Fifteen videos will receive awards at the festival. Steelworkers Auditorium is located at 1555 Summit Ave., Fontana. For more information, visit https://filmfreeway.com/FUSDFilmFestival.
Fontana Unified Students to Graduate from Kaiser Internship Program
Fontana Unified School District students have spent the last five weeks networking and exploring potential careers in healthcare through the Kaiser Permanente Internship Program at the Fontana Medical Center. Thirty-seven A.B. Miller High School Health Services Academy seniors, who interned at Kaiser Permanente’s Fontana Medical Center in February and March, will receive a certificate of completion and letter of recommendation during a graduation ceremony at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 27 at the Kaiser Fontana Medical Center, 9961 Sierra Ave., Fontana.
Fontana Unified School District students have spent the last five weeks networking and exploring potential careers in healthcare through the Kaiser Permanente Internship Program at the Fontana Medical Center. Thirty-seven A.B. Miller High School Health Services Academy (HSA) seniors, who interned at Kaiser Permanente’s Fontana Medical Center in February and March, will receive a certificate of completion and letter of recommendation during a graduation ceremony at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 27 the Kaiser Fontana Medical Center. The Kaiser Permanente Internship Program serves as a capstone course for A.B. Miller’s HSA, a three-year career technical education (CTE) pathway that introduces students to a wide range of medical careers. The HSA first began in 2005 and launched internships in 2006. This internship program returned this year following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students in Fontana High School’s Career Connections career technical education (CTE) pathway will put their design and construction skills to the test during the 38th annual Construction Industry Education Foundation (CIEF) Design Build Competition. Design Build challenges students to design, plan, and construct a 96 square-foot structure that meets a set of criteria established under the advisement of industry professionals. Students also have the opportunity to network with industry professionals, earn scholarships and apprenticeships, and more.
Fontana High School honored 162 students who have qualified to receive the State Seal of Biliteracy (SSB), an honor that recognizes students’ proficiency in bilingualism and biliteracy. To receive the SSB, marked by a gold seal on a graduate’s diploma and notation on their transcript, students must meet requirements outlined in the California Education Code that demonstrate high levels of achievement in speaking, reading, and writing in both English and one or more partner languages. The number of SSB-eligible Fontana High students is expected to increase before the end of the year.
80 Fontana Unified Varsity Athletic Teams Achieve 3.0 GPA or Higher
Eighty varsity athletic teams across Fontana Unified’s five comprehensive high schools have earned a team GPA of 3.0 or higher, demonstrating the commitment to excellence that Fontana Unified student-athletes demonstrate in the classroom and on the field. All 20 of Summit High School’s athletic teams earned team GPAs of 3.0 or higher for the second consecutive year.
