Fontana Unified’s Summit High School has been awarded a 2016 Golden Bell Award for a program that successfully supports freshmen as they shift from middle school to high school – a transition made easier with the mentorship and guidance of junior and senior students, called Link Crew leaders. Of the almost 300 entries that were submitted for the award, now in its 37th year, Summit’s Freshman Success Intervention Program (FSIP) was selected to win the most prestigious honor awarded to California school districts by the California School Boards Association (CSBA). The school and District will receive the award at a Dec. 3 recognition ceremony at CSBA’s annual Educational Conference in San Francisco.
Follow-up Story: Fontana Unified School District officials dedicated the new Dolores Huerta International Academy during an Oct. 11 community celebration that featured musical performances from students and inspiring remarks from the nationally renowned labor leader, who inspired students to forge ahead with their educational endeavors and pursue their dreams. The state-of-the-art dual-language magnet school opened its doors to 350 students in kindergarten through third grade in August 2016, launching opportunities for Fontana’s young learners to explore innovative English-Spanish dual-language and pre-International Baccalaureate (IB) magnet programs.
Fontana Unified’s Dolores Huerta International Academy has been named a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme, laying a foundation that will enable young learners to pursue a rigorous course of study preparing them for college-level coursework. The Dolores Huerta International Academy, a K-3 magnet school named for Civil Rights activist and labor leader Dolores Huerta, provides an English-Spanish dual-language immersion program to 350 students. As a candidate for the IB Primary Years Programme, the academy, which opened in August, will be able to pursue authorization as an IB World School and offer a challenging curriculum.
3 Fontana Unified Schools Recognized for Fostering Supportive Campuses
Three Fontana Unified schools have been recognized by the state for their successful efforts in boosting student excellence, shrinking behavioral issues and fostering positive and supportive campus environments. Earning accolades from the California PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) Coalition are Truman Middle School, which earned a silver certification, and Date Elementary and Jurupa Hills High schools, both of which earned bronze certifications. They are among 506 schools across to the state to be touted for working to effectively implement the PBIS program, which incorporates strategies for defining, teaching and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create a positive school setting. The schools will be acknowledged at the California PBIS Coalition Conference on Thursday, Sept. 22 in Sacramento.
Just two years after implementing an intervention program that fosters a positive and supportive campus environment, Jurupa Hills High School has been recognized by the state for boosting student excellence and shrinking behavioral issues. Jurupa Hills earned a bronze certification from the California PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) Coalition, making it one of about 500 schools touted for working to effectively implement the PBIS program, which incorporates strategies for defining, teaching and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create a positive school setting. The school will be acknowledged at the California PBIS Coalition Conference on Thursday, Sept. 22 in Sacramento.
An increasing number of Fontana Unified School District students met or exceeded standards on California’s Smarter Balanced tests for English language arts (ELA) and mathematics, according to District officials and data released Wednesday by the state Department of Education. The data from the second-year, computer-based tests – administered to students in grades three through eight, and grade 11 – show progress in student performance and achievement levels on the more rigorous California Standards, which are in their third year of implementation and challenge students to apply the knowledge and skills they are learning in the classroom to real-world problems.
Follow-up Story: Fontana Unified will kick off 2016-17 by welcoming 350 K-3 students to its newly constructed Dolores Huerta International Academy, named for civil rights activist and labor leader Dolores Huerta, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:15 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 4 at the new school, 17777 Merrill Ave., Fontana. The campus will provide dual-language immersion and Pre-International Baccalaureate magnet programs for students in kindergarten through grade three. Grade four will be added in 2017-18 and grade five will be added in 2018-19.
Fontana Unified Schools Named to Honor Roll for High Achievement
Fontana Unified’s Dorothy Grant and Sierra Lakes elementary schools are among more than 1,700 California public schools to be named 2015 Honor Roll schools, selected for exceptional academic performance. The Honor Roll is part of a national effort to identify high-performing schools and highlight successful practices by the Educational Results Partnership and the Campaign for Business and Education Excellence.
Fontana Unified’s Board of Education on Wednesday, July 13 will consider appointing co-interim superintendents as the District prepares for the departure of Superintendent Dr. Leslie Boozer. Search firm Leadership Associates advised the Board to appoint Dr. John R. Porter, Jr., a superintendent with more than 30 years of education experience, and FUSD Associate Superintendent of Business Services Randal Bassett, who possesses nearly 20 years of management experience in the District. The pair would partner to ensure a seamless transition for Fontana Unified when Boozer departs.
Thirty-six Fontana Unified schools were honored with the Distinguished After School Health (DASH) program certificate, a new state award that recognizes programs that excel in providing health education, nutrition and physical activities for students. FUSD received the honor for programs at 29 elementary schools and seven middle schools that are on the cutting-edge of nutritional standards and which encourage healthy habits and exercise.
