Dressed in Dolores Huerta-inspired T-shirts while chanting “Si Se Puede,” students from Fontana Unified’s Dolores Huerta International Academy welcomed Huerta to campus on April 15 to celebrate her 89th birthday. Students showcased dancing skills while holding flags from different countries, showing what it means to be a part of an international academy, and performed a skit about Huerta’s life as an activist.
Fontana Unified board members, administrators, educators and students on April 24 celebrated Southridge Tech Middle School’s selection as one of 16 California schools newly chosen for the 2019 Schools to Watch list. The event featured performances, remarks from Southridge Tech’s principal, ASB president and Teacher of the Year, and was attended by California Schools to Watch Co-Director Carole Carlson, Fontana Superintendent Randal S. Bassett and past president of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform Dr. Irvin Howard. Photos and video are available.
Wayne Ruble Middle School on April 12 celebrated its selection as one of 16 California schools chosen for the 2019 Schools to Watch list for bridging the technology gap, boosting student achievement and improving campus culture. Wayne Ruble Middle School’s ceremony featured performances by the school band, choir and cheerleaders, and was attended by Superintendent Randal S. Bassett, Schools to Watch Executive Director Scott Steele, Maha Rizvi, representative of Assemblymember Eloise Reyes, District leaders, parents, more than 1,200 students and the educator for whom the school was named, Wayne Ruble.
The Fontana Public Schools Education Foundation will host Fontana Unified’s State of the District scholarship breakfast from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 23 at the Center Stage Theater, 8463 Sierra Ave., Fontana. Superintendent Randal S. Bassett and Student Board Member Jashandeep Lobana will highlight District successes and announce new programs and initiatives at the event.
Fontana Unified has been recognized by the state’s 2018-19 Model School Attendance Review Board (SARB) Recognition Program, celebrating district strategies to reduce chronic absenteeism and increase student attendance. The District is among just 23 in the state to receive the award and will be celebrated at the California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance conference on Friday, April 19 in Napa.
Showcasing their creative talents in a variety of media, more than 40 Jurupa Hills High School International Baccalaureate (IB) art students contributed artwork for sale at the IB Charity Art Show on April 5. Proceeds from the show will be split between a charity selected by IB art students and the Fontana Foundation of Hope’s IB Scholarship Fund.
Wayne Ruble Middle School will celebrate its California Schools to Watch listing with city officials, District personnel, teachers, students and staff during a special campus ceremony. Wayne Ruble’s band and cheerleaders will perform amid speeches from the Fontana Unified superintendent, a California League of Schools representative and Wayne Ruble’s principal and ASB president.
Fontana Unified students with special needs raced to the finish line, launched softballs across the field and cooled off with a water balloon toss on May 13 during the seventh annual Splash and Dash at Henry J. Kaiser High School. Splash and Dash – one of the largest district special education events in California – brought together students from Kaiser’s general education program and FUSD’s middle and high school special education programs for a day of friendly competition and healthy activities.
A.B. Miller High School seniors Maritza Padilla and Gerardo Pena were named 2019 Dell Scholars by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, an honor that comes with a $20,000 scholarship. Padilla and Pena, who both belong to A.B. Miller’s Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) college-readiness program, will also receive a laptop and textbook credits.
Fontana Unified student filmmakers prepared classmates for prom season with public service announcements (PSAs) highlighting the dangers of underage drinking and driving as part of the District’s 2019 “Be Smart, Party Safe and Sober” campaign. Fontana Unified administrators – partnering with Fontana city and district police departments and business and community leaders – kicked off the month-long campaign at a March 27 press conference by screening the top five student-produced PSAs, which visualized the impact drunk driving can have on their future.