Fontana Unified students returned to school for the 2018-19 year on Aug. 6, greeted by new administrators, expanded early education programs and learning opportunities designed to strengthen instruction and inspire academic excellence. The District extended its full-day kindergarten to three additional schools this year, including Almond Elementary. There, parents were invited to escort their children into their new classrooms, meet their new teachers and help ease the transition into school life.
Fontana Unified Elementary to Provide New STEM Learning Opportunities
Canyon Crest Elementary School will provide new activities and resources to help students explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects in 2018-19. The school, which offers a Maker Space dedicated to hand-on creativity and mobile computer and tablet labs for coding and computer programming, will add an “Innovation Space” that features Lego robotics and Merge augmented/virtual reality cubes.
Fontana Unified School District has appointed four new elementary school principals, who will welcome students, faculty and staff for the 2018-19 year on Monday, Aug. 6. Sandra Loudermilk will lead Date Elementary, Amanda Colon will lead Locust Elementary, Lauri Martin will helm Palmetto Elementary and Dr. Amanda Beasley will oversee Randall Pepper Elementary.
Nearly 200 Fontana Unified administrators brainstorm creative solutions to educational challenges, celebrated innovation among their peers and strengthened their management skills during the District’s inaugural Leadership Institute on July 16 and 17. The two-day, team-building seminar kicked off with a keynote address from Dr. Adam Steltzner, the chief engineer on NASA’s Mars 2020 project. Steltzner discussed his unconventional path to becoming a NASA engineer and discussed the importance of embracing curiosity-based decision making.
Fontana Unified to Brief Parents on Computer Science Immersion School
Chaparral Elementary will hold a parent information meeting from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23 to highlight its Code to the Future computer science immersion curriculum. Parents will learn about the goals and benefits of the program and watch student-led coding demonstrations. Chaparral, one of the first Code to the Future schools in the Inland Empire, is at 14000 Shadow Drive, Fontana.
A.B. Miller High School received a silver medal on U.S. News and World Report’s 2018 Best High Schools rankings. A.B. Miller is among 5,948 public high schools awarded gold, silver and bronze medals for their performance on standardized tests and efforts to promote college readiness.
Fontana Unified School District is expanding its early learning program to offer full-day kindergarten at three additional schools in 2018-19. Almond, Mango and Maple elementary schools will offer full-day kindergarten classes for the first time, joining Citrus, Juniper, Sierra Lakes and Tokay elementary schools. While all seven full-day kinder programs are full, half-day kindergarten enrollment is still open at the remaining school sites. For more information, call (909) 357-5000.
Fontana Unified School District recently honored nearly 40 parent and community volunteers who spent countless hours advocating on behalf of students during the 2017-18 year. Members of each of the District’s six parent advisory councils were applauded for their dedication to ensuring students receive the best programs and services for their needs.
Fontana Adult School to Offer Free Computer Classes in Spanish
Fontana Unified’s adult school will offer free computer classes for Spanish speakers from Monday, July 16 to Monday, Aug. 20. The school will offer two levels of classes: level one will run from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and level two will run from noon to 2 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. For information, call 909-357-5490.
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.
