Fontana Unified’s Board of Education appointed Henry J. Kaiser High School senior Jashandeep Lobana as the 2018-19 Board of Education student representative at its Aug. 29 meeting. Lobana, a student-athlete and AP Scholar ranked No. 1 in his class, was honored by former student BOE representative Isaac Rubalcava, who inspired Lobana to pursue the position.
Fontana Unified School District honored nearly 30 parent and community volunteers for their service during 2017-18 at the Board of Education meeting on June 20. Volunteers from each of the district’s six parent advisory councils were recognized for advocacy on behalf of students, including those with special needs, English learners and African American students. Fifteen parents and community members were also celebrated for completing the district’s six Parent University sessions, which help parents support and continue their children’s education at home.
Summit High School’s marching regiment was selected to perform in the 2018 Hollywood Christmas Parade, set for November. Summit students and alumni will play their way up and down Hollywood and Sunset boulevards alongside nearly 100 celebrities and marching bands in the 3.5-mile parade.
Dressing as world leaders, business people and artisans, Canyon Crest Elementary School students led the Fontana community through a “Careers Alive Museum” on June 8, demonstrating in words and visuals what the professions of their future will look like. The museum concluded a two-week college and career exploration camp in which students researched job opportunities and applied their knowledge to create exhibits, design costumes and give presentations on a variety of technological platforms. Photos are available.
Dolores Huerta International Academy, Sierra Lakes Elementary and Dorothy Grant Elementary were named to the 2017-18 California Honor Roll for narrowing the achievement gap and producing strong results on state standardized tests. All three Fontana Unified schools were honored as Star Schools, a designation for high-performing schools with substantial populations of socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
Two Jurupa Hills High School juniors have been invited to participate in the 2018-19 National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) for their performance on the PSAT, placing them among the top 2.5 percent of Hispanic and Latino students in their 12-state region. If selected, Angel Guerrero and Kaitlyn Dodgen would be among 5,000 Hispanic/Latino students to be named NHRP Scholars, chosen from a pool of 250,000 high school juniors.
Henry J. Kaiser High School graduate Amandeep Heyer will study computer science at Yale University this fall after receiving a 2018 Gates Scholarship, an all-expense-paid award given to just 300 students across the country. After college, Heyer – one of Kaiser’s four Class of 2018 co-valedictorians – dreams of working for a startup company, where he feels he can make a big difference in a smaller, hands-on work environment.
Fontana Unified’s Class of 2018 celebrated 12 valedictorians and salutatorians from five comprehensive high schools, many of whom will pursue higher education and careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) fields.
Five Fontana Unified High School graduates who have juggled personal challenges with academic excellence were named 2018 Dell Scholars, earning a collective $100,000 in scholarships for higher education costs. Kaiser High School’s Syeda Arif will attend UC Berkeley to study nutrition and public health; Fontana High School’s Victor Iribe will major in mechanical engineering at Cal State L.A.; Summit High School’s Mary Ambriz will study political science and women’s studies at Occidental College; Summit’s Melissa Cruz will attend UC Irvine to study biological sciences; and Summit’s Maria Medina will major in political science at UC Berkeley.
Fontana High School student Andres Larias was named a 2018 Carson Scholars fund recipient, earning a $1,000 college scholarship aimed to support students who display academic excellence and humanitarian qualities. Larias, a high-achieving AP scholar and student-athlete, volunteers at his church, as a peer tutor and on a youth advisory committee.