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Fontana Unified School District

  • Fontana Unified Educator Selected as Finalist for California State Teacher of the Year Award

    Live Oak Elementary School teacher Michelle Vazquez discovered her calling for teaching and advocacy at a young age, growing up in a family that ran a foster home for adults with special needs. Vazquez credits her childhood for teaching her the importance of dignity, patience, and creating spaces where everyone feels valued. It’s a lesson the Resource Specialist Program (RSP) teacher has carried with her throughout her 16-plus years in education. That dedication helped lead to her recognition as Live Oak Elementary and Fontana Unified School District’s (FUSD) 2024-25 Teacher of the Year, as well as one of the 2026 San Bernardino Countywide Teachers of the Year. With the county recognition, Vazquez is now a finalist for the 2026 California Department of Education Teacher of the Year award.

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  • Fontana Unified to Expand Student Services by Uniting Award-Winning Continuation Schools

    Fontana Unified School District (FUSD) will strengthen and broaden academic and support services for its continuation high school students as it merges its two Model Continuation High Schools, Citrus and Eric Birch, beginning in the 2025-26 school year. Both continuation schools will consolidate under the name Eric Birch High School, relocating to the former Citrus High site at 10760 Cypress Ave., and adopting the Citrus Jaguars mascot. The FUSD Board of Education approved the merger and an estimated $150,000 cost associated with renaming the Citrus campus to Eric Birch High School during its June 18 meeting. Fontana Unified’s continuation school instruction has been recognized by the California Department of Education (CDE) for its comprehensive excellence. Both Citrus and Eric Birch earned Model Continuation School designations from the CDE for their innovative approach to alternative education, with Citrus earning the three-year status in 2023 and Eric Birch securing recognition in 2024, which extends into the 2025-26 school year.

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  • Fontana Unified to Celebrate Renaming of O’Day Short Elementary School, Honor Family’s Legacy

    Fontana Unified will host a renaming ceremony as Randall Pepper Elementary School officially transitions to O’Day Short Elementary in the 2025-26 school year, honoring the O’Day Short Family, which is remembered for breaking Fontana’s color barrier 80 years ago. District middle school student Cyrus Moss championed the renaming of O’Day Short Elementary. Moss submitted a petition with 132 signatures to rename Randall Pepper Elementary to the Fontana Unified Board of Education in March 2024. The Board unanimously voted to rename the school in September 2024 after all administrative regulations were met.

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Fontana Unified’s A.B. Miller High to Host TV Production Festival

A.B. Miller High School will host its annual TV production festival from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 4, showcasing outstanding projects created in the school’s TV production program. A.B. Miller is at 6821 Oleander Ave., Fontana.

Fontana Unified Middle-Schoolers Compete in Robotics Contest

Students from Wayne Ruble Middle School’s fledgling robotics program will compete in the FIRST Lego League Spring Showdown on Saturday, April 28 at Legoland after winning the Fontana Unified Regional Robotics Championship Cup on April 7. Team C0D3 scored over 260 points at the regional championship and took first place in robot performance and robot design categories.

Fontana Unified Students to Display STEM Skills at State Science Fair

Five Henry J. Kaiser High School students will exhibit their science projects at the California Science and Engineering Fair Monday, April 23 and Tuesday, April 24 at the California Science Center after winning gold medals in the tri-county fair on April 3. Kaiser senior Abraham Rubalcava and junior Jashandeep Lobana investigated how to reclaim lead from wild plants in their project, which also earned them the Community Award and a $1,000 check from the Professional Engineers of California Government (PECG) to further their education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

Fontana Unified Students Display STEM Skills at Tri-County Science and Engineering Fair

A commitment to protecting the environment has brought recognition to five Kaiser High School students, whose science projects earned them gold medals at the SIM Science and Engineering Fair, held April 3 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Kaiser High senior Abraham Rubalcava and junior Jashandeep Lobana investigated how to reclaim lead from wild plants in their project, “Phytoremediation of Lead through Arabidopsis Thaliana.” In addition to the gold medal, the project earned them the Community Award and a $1,000 check from the Professional Engineers of California Government (PECG) to further their education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

Fontana Unified’s Kaiser High Selected to Perform in 2019 Rose Parade

Henry J. Kaiser High School’s Catamount Pride Band and Color Guard will perform in the opening ceremonies of the 130th annual Rose Parade – the first Fontana Unified school to ever earn the invitation. Kaiser’s band and color guard will be the featured band during the opening ceremonies of 2019 Rose Parade and perform a show highlighting the parade’s theme, “The Melody of Life.”

Fontana Unified Employee to Be Honored by County Board of Education

Poplar Elementary kitchen operator Deborah Leon is one of five employees to be honored this year as a Classified Employee of the Year by the San Bernardino County Board of Education. Leon, who has worked at Poplar Elementary for 30 years, will be recognized Monday, April 9 at the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools’ Brier building, 760 E. Brier Drive, San Bernardino.

Fontana Unified to Host Parent Workshops on Community Resources

Fontana Unified School District will hold free Parent University workshops from 9 to 11 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, highlighting the district’s community partnerships and resources available to FUSD families. The workshops will be at the Piazza Educational Center, 9680 Citrus Ave., Fontana.

Two Fontana Unified Schools Add Code to the Future Focus

Fontana Unified’s Dorothy Grant and Chaparral elementary schools have begun the process of becoming Code to the Future schools, which offer immersive computer science curriculum. Both schools will implement the new computer science curriculum in the 2018-19 school year. They will be the only Code to the Future schools in the Inland Empire.