Fontana Unified celebrated the first day of the 2021-22 school year and the return to full-time, in-person instruction on Aug. 6, welcoming students to campuses bedecked with balloons, banners, and inspirational messages. Fontana High School students reconnecting with their friends were greeted with maroon and white balloons, the sounds of a DJ playing music a chalk art mural and messages across campus that said “welcome back” and “we missed you.” At Truman Middle School, students arrived in waves, receiving their class assignments and having their temperature checked before gathering in the main quad.
Henry J. Kaiser High School and Sierra Lakes Elementary launched the 2021-22 year under the leadership of recently appointed principals Jose A. Espinoza and Maria Talamantes, who bring nearly 38 years of collective experience to Fontana Unified. In their new roles, Espinoza and Talamantes will oversee the administration of all facets of their school’s educational program and focus on the optimal educational development of each student.
Summit High School’s ASE Education Foundation Automotive Program has partnered with General Motors (GM), which will donate a 2020 Chevrolet Traverse to help career technical education (CTE) students enrolled in Summit’s ASE Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair class gain the technological skills necessary to become an automotive technician. Made through GM’s corporate donations program, the gift will bolster Summit’s maintenance class, which is guided by GM’s Automotive Service Education Program (ASEP) curriculum and incorporates advanced automotive technical training with a strong academic foundation of math, reading and electronics, as well as analytical and technical skills.
Fontana Unified Sets Aug. 6 Start for 2021-22, Launches Online Program
Fontana Unified School District will launch the 2021-22 school year on Friday, Aug. 6. Students will return to campuses for in-person instruction, five days a week. Fontana Unified will also provide full-day kindergarten at all elementary sites in 2021-22. Students who wish to remain in an online learning environment may apply for one of the District’s two virtual programs: the new Actively Creating Connections Ensuring Student Success (ACCESS) program, launching this year, or the Virtual Learning Program (VLP), which launched in 2020-21. ACCESS is an independent study program that offers live, synchronous instruction in a digital classroom and mirrors a traditional school day. VLP is an asynchronous curricular program geared towards meeting the needs of students who are self-guided, independent learners.
Fontana School Police Officer Honored for Safe Driving Education
Fontana School Police Department Officer Glen A. Johnsen has been honored with the 2021 Innovation in the Classroom Award, receiving national recognition for his creative approach to teaching students about safe driving. The annual accolade, awarded by the National Road Safety Foundation and the National Association of School Resource Officers, recognizes a police officer for their innovative teaching of traffic safety in schools. Johnsen’s award-winning approach features a computer game, developed with computer science students at Summit High School, that uses role-playing to demonstrate the potential consequences of bad driving decisions – including texting, reckless driving and driving under the influence.
Fontana Unified School District will begin the 2020-2021 school year on Aug. 24, at which time all students will return to school in an online setting. This will allow additional time for students, parents, teachers, and staff to better prepare for a new school year. The decision to start the school year on Aug. 24 was announced during a July 22 Board of Education special meeting.
Alexis Amigon spent two anxious weeks in the hospital fighting COVID-19. Ana Garcia lost her job during the pandemic, after working for 20 years as a waitress. Seryna Thai had just graduated from USC film school when she became afflicted with fibromyalgia. All three women were determined to change the trajectory of their lives by enrolling at Fontana Adult School (FAS). Today, Amigon is considering a career as a certified respiratory therapist, Garcia has been hired as a bilingual educator for Riverside Unified School District, and Thai is looking forward to teaching digital media at FAS. Amigon and Garcia shared their stories during an emotional Fontana Adult School commencement ceremony, held June 10 at San Manuel Stadium.
The Citrus Belt Area Athletic Directors Association (CBAADA) recognized A.B. Miller High School Class of 2021 graduates Jhovanny Hernandez and Abigail Macedo as CBAADA 2021 Athletes of the Year for excellence in sports and in the classroom. Hernandez, who graduated with a 3.85 GPA, was a running back for A.B. Miller’s football team and sprinter on the track and field team. He will attend UC Riverside and study biology, with a dream of someday becoming an anesthesiologist or surgeon. Macedo, who graduated with a 3.4 GPA, played two years of volleyball and four years of soccer at A.B. Miller, serving as the team’s goalkeeper. She plans to continue playing soccer at the University of La Verne, where she will major in business, and hopes to become an entrepreneur and start her own business. Hernandez and Macedo, who both played multiple sports for A.B. Miller, received Citrus Belt patches and certificates.
A.B. Miller High School’s varsity baseball field will be renamed Frank Martinez Field to honor the retired physical education teacher who served as A.B. Miller’s first baseball coach, leading the team to 11 league championships, and guiding a generation of students to athletic and academic success. The renaming, approved by the Fontana Unified Board of Education on June 2, was initiated by former A.B. Miller players, including Samuel Lopez, a Class of 2001 graduate who teaches and coaches baseball at Summit High School, and Azusa High School Principal Dr. Martin Gomez. Lopez and Gomez helped collect nearly 300 letters of recommendation from former students and players in a single weekend.
Two Henry J. Kaiser High School Class of 2021 graduates, who were enrolled in the school’s college-prep elective Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), have received $1,500 scholarships to ease their transition into higher education, thanks to the Riverside Inyo Mono San Bernardino (RIMS) AVID Scholarship Program. Tim Rodriguez and Fatima Mejia are both first-generation college students who joined AVID as freshmen, developing study skills, learning about the college application process, accessing scholarship opportunities, and immersing themselves in a college-going culture. Rodriguez will attend Cal State San Bernardino and study computer science; Mejia will attend Cal Poly Pomona.
