FONTANA, CA – Fontana Unified educator Marco Garcia will serve as Fontana Middle School’s principal for the 2020-21 year, bringing 22 years of experience to the role. Garcia takes the helm at Fontana Middle School on July 1 after working as an assistant principal at Henry J. Kaiser High School for the last four-and-a-half years.
Fontana High School has earned the 2020 Teacher Advocacy Award from Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), one of just five schools in California to receive the accolade this year. The award recognizes schools for exceptional leadership in support of the AVID mission, which is to narrow the achievement gap and improve college readiness for all students. Fontana High is an AVID National Demonstration School, a status achieved by less than 3 % of AVID schools nationwide and held by Fontana High since 2006.
Families interested in enrolling in Fontana Unified for the 2020-21 year may begin the process online. Fontana Unified offers an array of academic and enrichment programs that begin in transitional kindergarten and kindergarten – such as coding and robotics, dual language immersion and leadership development – and prepare students for hands-on career technical education and professional pathways in high school.
Class of 2020 graduates from A.B. Miller High School’s Conservatory of Dance are receiving national recognition for their excellence – as students and artists – from the National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA). Every Class of 2020 graduate from A.B. Miller High School’s Conservatory of Dance received honors or elevated honors status from the NHSDA, celebrating their outstanding artistic merit, leadership and academic achievement. Every Class of 2020 graduate from A.B. Miller High School’s Conservatory of Dance received honors or elevated honors status from the NHSDA, celebrating their outstanding artistic merit, leadership and academic achievement.
Principals from Fontana Unified’s five comprehensive high schools waved the checkered flag as Class of 2020 graduates and their families drove by, honking their horns and signaling the end of their high school journey during drive-thru commencement ceremonies at the Auto Club Speedway. The socially distanced ceremonies, held June 2-4, featured graduates disembarking from their cars in school-branded masks to accept their diplomas in front of classic cars. The ceremonies were accompanied by a virtual presentation of speeches from students and staff, built into a livestream of the diploma conferral. The ceremonies concluded the District’s commencement festivities, which included drive-thru ceremonies for the adult school and continuation schools at Ontario International Airport on May 28.
Summit High School senior Nicole Quinonez-Frias’ raw and emotional approach to highlighting cultural stigmas around depression and suicide, captured in a 60-second film, has earned statewide recognition as a category winner in the Directing Change Program and Film Contest. Quinonez-Frias’ film captured first place in the Through the Lens of Culture – Suicide Prevention category. As a statewide winner, she will receive a $1,000 prize. She is the first Summit High TV Production student to win an event in the competition.
Five Fontana Unified seniors received Accepting the Challenge of Excellence (ACE) awards from the Exchange Club of Fontana. The award comes with a $500 scholarship and recognizes students who have made impressive changes in their outlook and academic performance, enabling them to overcome adversities and prepare for graduation.
South El Monte High School will host a virtual Golden Eagle Award Show – which will be livestreamed on Instagram Live, YouTube Live and Facebook Live – at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 28. The program will honor the school’s high-achieving students, including its six valedictorians, who are heading to such universities as Stanford, UCLA and UC Berkeley. The event is the latest in a series of inventive solutions to honoring El Monte Union’s 1,800 graduating seniors while following the county’s social distancing guidelines and facial covering requirements. Over the last two weeks, the District's high schools held delivery programs, allowing students to pick up caps and gowns, medals and other graduation regalia from their cars. Staff and teachers also rallied together to deliver personalized Class of 2020 yard signs to families.
Fontana Unified School District kicked off commencement activities with three socially distant, drive-thru graduations at Ontario International Speedway on May 28. Students from Fontana Adult School, Eric Birch High School and Citrus High School donned commemorative masks, departed their vehicles and accepted their diploma onstage against a backdrop of commercial airplanes. The ceremonies were accompanied by a virtual presentation of speeches built into a livestream of the diploma conferral. The District will switch gears to Auto Club Speedway for its comprehensive high school graduations, held alongside victory lane. Summit and A.B. Miller high schools’ ceremonies will occur Tuesday, June 2; Kaiser and Fontana high schools will take place Wednesday, June 3 and Jurupa Hills High School will celebrate its graduates Thursday, June 4.
Fontana Unified School District will partner with Auto Club Speedway and Ontario International Airport to provide the Class of 2020 with a remarkable sendoff – drive-up graduation ceremonies that will allow students to celebrate together while observing health safety guidelines. District festivities will take flight at Ontario International Airport, starting with Fontana Adult School, Eric Birch High School and Citrus High School’s commencement ceremonies on Thursday, May 28. The District will then switch gears to the Auto Club Speedway, where the comprehensive high schools will hold their graduations alongside victory lane. Summit and A.B. Miller high schools’ ceremonies will occur on Tuesday, June 2; Kaiser and Fontana high schools will take place on Wednesday, June 3, and Jurupa Hills High School will celebrate its graduates on Thursday, June 4.