Fontana Unified’s Kaiser High Football Team Advances to State Championship
Kaiser High School’s football team will vie for its first CIF State Championship in the 3-A Division on Saturday, Dec. 15 against Wilcox High School in Santa Clara.
Fontana Unified School District’s (FUSD) headquarters parking lot once again transformed into a Southern California winter wonderland as it continued its tradition of spreading holiday cheer to local families in need during its 27th annual Fontana Santas toy distribution on Dec. 21. For hours, a steady line of cars moved through the festive event picking up gifts of school supplies, food, books, and information on readily available community resources before lastly visiting Santa and Mrs. Claus, who handed out toys near their sleigh. Volunteers of FUSD students, staff, and community members, including the entire Board of Education loaded each car up with gifts. For Elsie Avalos, who works in Maple Elementary School’s health office, it was a chance for her family to give back to the community as she volunteered alongside her daughters Joanna and Isabella.
Fontana Unified School District’s (FUSD) Board of Education restructured ahead of the new year as it welcomed two new members, Danielle Holley and Angel Ramirez, and appointed new leadership during the Board’s annual election and organization meeting on Dec. 18. The meeting began with a ceremonial roll call to celebrate the first Board session featuring newly elected members Holley and Ramiez, who both participated in an oath of office ceremony surrounded by friends, family, and other elected officials. The Board also elected Adam Perez to serve as its new president, while Holley was appointed to serve as vice president during the meeting.
Summit High School’s Summer Bridge Program prepares incoming freshmen for the rigors of high school by reducing the anxiety that comes with attending a new school, which led to it winning the prestigious California School Boards Association (CSBA) Golden Bell Award. Five Fontana Unified School District (FUSD) programs have now won six CSBA Golden Bell Awards, which promote excellence in education and school board governance by recognizing outstanding school programs throughout California. District leaders received the award at CSBA’s 2024 Education Conference and Trade Show, which was held Dec. 5-7 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Kaiser High School’s football team will vie for its first CIF State Championship in the 3-A Division on Saturday, Dec. 15 against Wilcox High School in Santa Clara.
Fontana Unified School District will hold a tour of Dorothy Grant Elementary – one of its Code to the Future computer science immersion schools – for superintendents and local elected officials from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3. Following a student-led keynote speech, school superintendents and guests will visit classrooms and learn how computer science is integrated into daily instruction at each grade level. Dorothy Grant Elementary is at 7069 Isabel Lane, Fontana.
Southridge Middle School held its first “Digital Footprints” technology showcase on Nov. 28, highlighting its Microsoft Showcase School status and how students are using Microsoft tools in the classroom.
Fontana Unified School District students improved their performance on California’s English language arts (ELA) and mathematics tests in 2018, continuing an upward trend and highlighting the District’s ongoing efforts to close achievement gaps.
Chaparral and Dorothy Grant elementary school students demonstrated their skill at coding games and creating avatars for parents and community members at recent EPIC Build showcase events, highlighting student achievement under new Code to the Future programs. Code to the Future is the nation’s leading creator of immersive computer science curricula, which engages students in technology- and coding-based lessons integrated into daily instruction and core subjects.
Fontana Unified School District was honored by the American Heart Association with a Bronze Workplace Health Solutions Award, which recognizes district efforts to cultivate a workplace culture of wellness. Fontana Unified’s wellness program includes a series of smaller health challenges and an annual wellness fair, which provides staff with health and wellness information, medical, dental and vision screenings, raffle prizes, and more.
Fontana Unified will offer its third Parent University workshop of the year, continuing its efforts to boost family engagement in the educational process. The first free session, “Parenting in a Digital World,” will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27 at Fontana Adult School, 10755 Oleander Ave.; and from 6 to 8 p.m. at the John D. Piazza Center, 9680 Citrus Ave. Translation services will be available.
Fontana Unified’s Board of Education appointed Jason O’Brien as its new president and Marcelino “Mars” Serna as vice president/clerk during its reorganization meeting on Dec. 12. Recently re-elected members Serna and Mary Sandoval, as well as newly elected member Adam Perez, were sworn in during the meeting.
Julie Bello, a counselor at Fontana Unified’s Shadow Hills and Canyon Crest elementary schools, will be recognized as one of eight 2018 Educators of the Year by Assemblyman Freddie Rodriguez from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 at the Old Schoolhouse Museum, 5493 B St., Chino.
Fontana Unified School District recognized 14 students at the Oct. 25 Board of Education meeting for earning perfect scores on the state’s 2018 English language arts (ELA) and math standardized tests. For their hard work, the students will each receive a laptop from Presidio Systems, Inc., one of Fontana Unified’s community partners. Fontana Unified students improved their overall performance on the tests, with 38.44 percent meeting or exceeding standards in ELA, up 5 percentage points over 2017, and 23.22 percent meeting or exceeding standards in math, up nearly 4 percentage points from 2017.