Hacienda La Puente Unified Celebrates 2024 Teacher of the Year
Valinda School of Academics second-grade Dual Language Immersion teacher Fany Melendez has been named Hacienda La Puente Unifed’s 2024 Teacher of the Year for her unwavering commitment to student success and holistic approach to teaching, inspiring excellence in every aspect of her classroom. With 13 years of service in education, Melendez is a passionate nurturer of students' academic and personal growth. She focuses many of her efforts on closing the achievement gap for language learners by incorporating the DLI curriculum into meaningful lessons that also support students' socio-emotional growth.
Hacienda La Puente Unified Students Hit Dance Floor for Conga Kids
Fifth-grade students from 22 Hacienda La Puente Unified elementary schools put their costumes on, grabbed their partners and headed to the dance floor to compete in the second annual Conga Kids semifinals on April 17. The gymnasium was at maximum capacity as families gathered to watch the largest semi-finals in Conga Kids history, featuring students showcasing their determination, communication skills, and dancing abilities with a variety of ballroom dances and battling for a spot in the finals, to be held at L.A. Live in May.
LACOE Cites HLPUSD School as California Democracy School
The Los Angeles County Office of Education will recognize La Puente High School as a 2024 California Democracy School at the California Civic Learning Student Showcase and Award Ceremony, to be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 11 at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library Museum. The ceremony will honor California Democracy School awardees and highlight the various ways students are addressing real-world issues as responsible, civically engaged citizens. The Nixon Library is located at 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd., Yorba Linda.
Hacienda La Puente Unified Highlight Gains During Spring Showcase
Hacienda La Puente Unified schools are preparing lavish, interactive exhibits and posterboards to share with the community at the District’s New Pedagogies for Deep Learning Spring Showcase, to be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 2 at the Willow Adult Center. The exhibits will feature the unique and creative ways scholars have been developing innovative, real-life learning experiences and applying this year’s District theme, “Engage, Experience, Connect: Deep Learning Every Day,” into their classrooms. Willow Adult Center is located at 14101 E. Nelson Ave., La Puente.
La Puente High School students and staff strengthened their dedication to real-world civic action by participating in the National Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) program, a hybrid course developed to educate and train individuals in disaster preparedness, held on April 13. The program was set in motion by the school’s Public Safety Career Technical Education (CTE) pathway instructor Antonia Ramirez. After extensive research, Ramirez introduced 29 CTE students and six staff members, including Principal Dr. Lisa Lopez, to the hybrid CERT program – a nine-unit online course packed with rigorous curricula provided by the University of Utah and completed with a hands-on practical portion led by the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Hacienda La Puente Unified to Host Annual Autism Walk
Hacienda La Puente Unified School District’s Special Education Department is busy creating colorful posterboards and coordinating activities to host its annual Autism Awareness Walk at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 13, at Palm Elementary School. The event will feature numerous guest speakers, including local dignitaries, District officials and families, leading speeches surrounding this year’s theme, “Neurodiversity is our Strength, Minds of all Kinds Together,” and encouraging families to visit the resource tables and connect with students and community members during the walk. Palm Elementary School is located at 14740 Palm Ave, Hacienda Heights.
Hacienda La Puente Unified Students Receive Art Recognitions
Los Altos High School junior Angela Shih and senior Amber Juarez are celebrating their recent accomplishments as winners of the Riverside Youth Art Month Competition. Shih and Juarez were recognized for their distinctive drawings, with Shih capturing a first-place award and Juarez receiving second place. The awards reflect the excellent work coming out of Los Altos’ visual arts program, led by teacher Bertha Oseguera. The winning art is now on display at the Riverside Art Museum.
Hacienda La Puente Unified Celebrates Self-Expression with Art Exhibit
Continuing to bring incredible talent and joy to its schools and the District community, Hacienda La Puente Unified will host its annual Art Show at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 18 at the Hacienda Heights Community Center. With its theme of “Wonder Everlasting,” the art show will feature beautiful displays of self-expression and creativity from students of all ages. The showcase will conclude with an awards reception to celebrate the young artists’ immense growth, collaborative efforts, and achievements. The Hacienda Heights Community Center is located at 1234 Valenica Ave., Hacienda Heights.
La Puente High School's dynamic running group, LP Runs LA, showcased their grit and determination at the 39th Annual Los Angeles Marathon on March 17, which saw 19 student-athletes and four teachers put their year-long training to the test as they tackled the grueling 26.2-mile course among a crowd of approximately 25,000 racers. La Puente High School educators, club advisors, and avid runners Ana Benitez and Wesley Perez said they started LP Runs LA in 2015 aiming to bring the many health and socio-emotional benefits of running to the students and staff of La Puente. This year marked LP Runs LA's seventh race, with three runners earning an LA Loyal pin for completing the journey around some of the city’s most notable landmarks for the second time.
Glen A. Wilson High School has been named a 2024 California Distinguished School by the California Department of Education (CDE), recognizing the Hacienda La Puente Unified school for demonstrating exceptional student performance and achieving accelerated academic growth for one or more historically underserved student groups. Glen A. Wilson High is one of just 293 secondary schools honored in 2024. To be selected, the CDE used multiple measures to identify eligible schools based on their performance on the state indicators specified in the 2023 California School Dashboard.
