fbpx

Fontana Unified School District

  • Fontana Unified Educator Selected as Finalist for California State Teacher of the Year Award

    Live Oak Elementary School teacher Michelle Vazquez discovered her calling for teaching and advocacy at a young age, growing up in a family that ran a foster home for adults with special needs. Vazquez credits her childhood for teaching her the importance of dignity, patience, and creating spaces where everyone feels valued. It’s a lesson the Resource Specialist Program (RSP) teacher has carried with her throughout her 16-plus years in education. That dedication helped lead to her recognition as Live Oak Elementary and Fontana Unified School District’s (FUSD) 2024-25 Teacher of the Year, as well as one of the 2026 San Bernardino Countywide Teachers of the Year. With the county recognition, Vazquez is now a finalist for the 2026 California Department of Education Teacher of the Year award.

    Read More

  • Fontana Unified to Expand Student Services by Uniting Award-Winning Continuation Schools

    Fontana Unified School District (FUSD) will strengthen and broaden academic and support services for its continuation high school students as it merges its two Model Continuation High Schools, Citrus and Eric Birch, beginning in the 2025-26 school year. Both continuation schools will consolidate under the name Eric Birch High School, relocating to the former Citrus High site at 10760 Cypress Ave., and adopting the Citrus Jaguars mascot. The FUSD Board of Education approved the merger and an estimated $150,000 cost associated with renaming the Citrus campus to Eric Birch High School during its June 18 meeting. Fontana Unified’s continuation school instruction has been recognized by the California Department of Education (CDE) for its comprehensive excellence. Both Citrus and Eric Birch earned Model Continuation School designations from the CDE for their innovative approach to alternative education, with Citrus earning the three-year status in 2023 and Eric Birch securing recognition in 2024, which extends into the 2025-26 school year.

    Read More

  • Fontana Unified to Celebrate Renaming of O’Day Short Elementary School, Honor Family’s Legacy

    Fontana Unified will host a renaming ceremony as Randall Pepper Elementary School officially transitions to O’Day Short Elementary in the 2025-26 school year, honoring the O’Day Short Family, which is remembered for breaking Fontana’s color barrier 80 years ago. District middle school student Cyrus Moss championed the renaming of O’Day Short Elementary. Moss submitted a petition with 132 signatures to rename Randall Pepper Elementary to the Fontana Unified Board of Education in March 2024. The Board unanimously voted to rename the school in September 2024 after all administrative regulations were met.

    Read More

Fontana Unified Superintendent Honored as 2025 Superintendent to Watch, District Awarded for Excellence in Communications

Fontana Unified School District Superintendent Miki R. Inbody has been named a Superintendent to Watch by the California School Public Relations Association (CalSPRA), while the District also earned four awards during the 2025 CalSPRA Awards Gala on March 7, underscoring FUSD’s commitment to innovative outreach and community engagement. Inbody joins CalSPRA’s prestigious list of Superintendents to Watch, who have demonstrated dynamic, fast-paced leadership with strong communication at its core. She was selected from a pool of nominees for the award, which recognizes superintendents with fewer than five years of experience. FUSD was also recognized with three CalSPRA Awards of Merit while Senior Director of Marketing, Communications, and Engagement Clarissa Trejo was named a 2025 CalSPRA Rising Star. CalSPRA awards are designed to celebrate outstanding communications work in comprehensive programs/campaigns and tactics.

Fontana Unified’s Award-Winning Theatre Program Opens Spring Season with “Frozen” Production

Fresh off an award-winning production, Jurupa Hills High School’s theatre group, dubbed Players of the Palace, is wrapping up its 2024-25 season with its production of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical.” Based on Disney’s beloved animated film, the production will bring all of its iconic characters to life on stage. The Players of the Palace offers Jurupa Hills students advanced theatre instruction, preparing them for success in performance and technical roles. The general public can purchase tickets to one of its performances through tix.com.

Fontana Unified MCJROTC Marksmanship Team Aims to Repeat Success at Regional Championship

Two Fontana High School (FOHI) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (MCJROTC) marksmanship teams will travel to Sandy, Utah looking to continue its run of success at the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Three-Position Air Rifle (3PAR) Western Regional hosted at the Mountain America Exposition Center on April 10-12. Media are invited to visit a FOHI MCJROTC marksmanship practice leading up to the regional competition, where FOHI MCJROTC Senior Marine Instructor (SMI), Lieutenant Colonel Rugsithi Denny Meelarp, Ret. and student team members will be available for on-camera interviews.

Fontana Unified Senior Named High School Mentor of the Year by Local Big Brothers Big Sisters Chapter

Jurupa Hills High School senior Karla Louisa dedicates every Tuesday to inspiring the next generation, sharing her passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) while playing games and building a meaningful bond with her fourth-grade “Little,” Yasmin, as part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program. BBBS of the Inland Empire named Louisa one of its two 2025 Mentors of the Year from its High School Bigs Program for her extraordinary mentorship, friendship, and advocacy. Each year during National Mentoring Month, BBBS honors two outstanding mentors with a regional title, which comes with a $2,500 College & Career Award to help fund their post-graduation dreams.

Fontana Unified Middle Schools Awarded Third-Straight California School to Watch Designations

Fontana Unified School District’s (FUSD) Southridge Tech and Wayne Ruble middle schools have been honored as 2025 California Schools to Watch, recognizing them as model schools dedicated to supporting the whole child. Fontana Unified accounted for two of the 90 middle schools across the state to be named to the California League of Middle Schools’ 2025 list of California Schools to Watch. These schools are recognized for their commitment to academic excellence, social equity, developmental responsiveness, and innovative systems.

Two Fontana Unified Staffers Honored with Regional Administrator of the Year Awards

Two Fontana Unified School District (FUSD) administrators, Michele Mower and Yubleni Cazares, will be honored by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 12 for their achievements and dedication to public education. Mower, Beech Avenue Elementary School’s principal, has been named the ASCA Region 12 Elementary Principal of the Year. Cazares, FUSD’s Expanded Learning Programs manager, has been named Classified Leader of the Year by a selection committee. ACSA Region 12 serves the educational administrators of San Bernardino County and holds an annual awards program to honor students, administrators, and community organizations for excellence in public education.

Fontana Unified Students Stage Historic Performance of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child High School Edition”

Elementary, middle, and high school students across Fontana Unified School District made history as they performed in one of the first student, theatrical productions of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child High School Edition” in the A.B. Miller High School and District Theater Conservatory. With wands at the ready, 39 students from Canyon Crest Elementary, Wayne Ruble and Southridge Tech middle schools, and A.B. Miller High School took the stage for eight performances of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” at the historic California Theatre of the Performing Arts between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2. A.B. Miller High School and Fontana Unified’s professionally produced show, supported by the Theatrical Arts International Foundation, gave students the opportunity to perform in a high-caliber production and brought the magic of the wizarding world to life. As part of the District’s career and technical education programming, FUSD’s Theater Conservatory gives students a taste of life on a professional stage, helping them build their portfolios and take their first steps toward a career in the performing arts.

Fontana Unified Elementary School Celebrated as National Success Story for Innovative Teaching Practices

Fontana Unified’s Beech Avenue Elementary School has earned national recognition from the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) for its effective implementation of the Teaching for Effective Learning (TEL) program, highlighting the school’s success in enhancing teaching practices and fostering collaboration among educators to advance student academic growth. Principal Michele Mower launched TEL, a research-based program that equips teachers with tools and strategies rooted in the science of learning, at Beech Avenue Elementary in 2021 to help mitigate learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and bridge achievement gaps, with positive impacts found among all student groups.

Fontana Unified Students Honored in National Design Competition for Innovative Assistive Technology

Students in Fontana High School’s (FOHI) Bio-Animatronic and Neuroprosthetic career technical education (CTE) pathway earned special recognition in the International Technology and Engineering Educators’ (ITEEA) REACH Challenge for their work designing adaptive and assistive living devices. The REACH Challenge is a national competition where students create innovative technological solutions to improve people’s lives in their community. This year, four teams of FOHI students earned special recognition for their REACH Challenge projects. The honor comes with a REACH banner and discounted registration for the 2025 ITEEA Conference on April 2-5, 2025 in St. Louis.