Thurgood Marshall Elementary School will gather community members to enhance its campus during a beautification day at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 3. Students will receive school credit as they join parents and staff for the campus cleaning. Water, snacks and gloves will be provided. Marshall is at 3593 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Lynwood.
Twenty-five Lynwood Unified parents will hold a commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 2 to celebrate completing a program that taught them how to build digital-age bridges with their children and the community. The 12-week parent workshop, called Project-2-INSPIRE, was hosted by the California Association for Bilingual Education. The ceremony will be at Cesar Chavez Middle School, 3898 Abbott Road, Lynwood.
Banda Nueva Dinastia de Zoochila – a second-generation Oaxacan philharmonic brass band composed of current and former Lindbergh Elementary School students – will give a free performance during the inaugural Oaxacan Philharmonic Bands Audition from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27 outside the UC Riverside Performance Lab Arts 166 building, 900 University Ave., Riverside. Musical director Jessica Hernandez, a Lynwood High Class of 2006 graduate, is the first female Oaxacan brass band director in California.
More than 200 Lynwood Unified African American students were inspired when they connected with successful leaders at the Martin Luther King Jr. “Against All Odds” Leadership Conference on Jan. 19. Young Black Achievers Student Union Members from Firebaugh, Lynwood and Vista high schools were joined by guest panelists as the group explored ways that students can make a positive impact. Ten presenters guided panel discussions, including Lynwood Unified Board of Education Member Gary Hardie as well as YBASU coordinators from each high school.
Follow-up Story: Nearly 60 Lugo Elementary School third-graders, inspired by talks from Delta Air Lines employees during a Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) celebration on Jan. 11, studied the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and wrote letters thanking the civil rights leader for fighting to obtain racial equality during the 1950s and 60s. Photos are available
Lynwood Unified families will learn how to use email to connect with teachers during a 21st-century learning workshop at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30 at Abbott Elementary School, 5260 Clark St., Lynwood.
Nearly 100 Abbott Elementary School students enjoyed clearer outlooks when they received new eyeglasses on Jan. 19. The service was provided by Vision To Learn, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating vision issues as a barrier to education. Students received eye examinations in fall 2017 to determine if they needed glasses.
Follow-up Story: Michael Tidwell, the newly installed president of the University of Texas at Tyler, still muses on the lessons he learned as a Lynwood Knight, especially from Donald Jones, the school’s former accounting teacher. Tidwell considers Jones a mentor since even though he was never enrolled in his classes, Jones still took the time to provide him with guidance about his future. “Mr. Jones was always so intentional about helping us students think about our future and helping us understand that where we are today is not necessarily where we would be tomorrow,” Tidwell said. “He never let us rest on our laurels and he constantly pushed us to think bigger and better.”
