Follow-up Story: Tennis star and Olympic gold medalist Venus Williams returned to Lynwood Unified’s Mark Twain Elementary School to surprise her first-grade teacher Judy Vellegas as part of a California Lottery “Back to the Start” social media video campaign. The video highlighted the student/teacher duo as they spent time reminiscing about Williams’ quiet personality in first grade, her dad taking her to the tennis courts in Compton after school, and her unwavering desire to dominate in tether ball at recess. The California Lottery video on Williams’ visit to Mark Twain Elementary can be viewed at http://bit.ly/2oPSZqF.
Follow-up Story: A group of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) held a two-day football recruitment event at Lynwood High School, where three Lynwood students received scholarship offers. Visiting schools included Tuskegee University, Lincoln State University and Virginia State University.
Follow-up Story: After nearly a year of researching colleges, about 650 Roosevelt Elementary students taught their peers what they have learned about college majors, programs and campuses during the school’s College Fair, held on April 26.
Follow-up Story: As part of a nationwide call to action by former First Lady Michelle Obama, hundreds of Lynwood High students took their first step toward college during College Signing Day, a White House program initiated in 2016 to encourage all students to attend college and support those planning their college ventures.
Open access to high-level courses, expansion of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs, and increased emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) helped boost Lynwood Unified’s graduation rates to record highs in 2015-16. The increases represent the latest in a trend of significant improvements over six years. Lynwood High boasted a 93.2 percent rate, up from 89.1 percent in 2014-15, while Firebaugh High jumped from 90.4 percent in 2014-15 to 93.3 percent. Since 2010-11, Lynwood High has climbed 25.3 percentage points and Firebaugh High has risen by 23.9 percentage points.
Lynwood Unified School District has launched a partnership with Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) that will provide priority admission and scholarships to qualifying District students. The partnership encourages students to enroll in health-related disciplines at CDU and provides them with benefits including scholarships, early admission and waived application fees.
Follow-up Story: Fifty-five Lynwood High and 101 Firebaugh High students received on-the-spot acceptances into 27 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) after a caravan of college recruiters, admission counselors and a few presidents visited both campuses Feb. 10. Lynwood High students also received $466,608 in scholarships and Firebaugh High students obtained more than $1.7 million in scholarships during the tour, organized by the National College Resources Foundation and the Black College Expo. About 99 percent of participants knew within 10 minutes if they had been accepted into one of the colleges
Lynwood High School senior Brandon Salazar was honored for his academic commitment with a $500 scholarship at the Lynwood Association of School Administrators (LASA) inaugural Every Student Succeeding Banquet, held March 30 at Bateman Hall in Lynwood. Salazar, 19, who was born in America but moved with family to Tijuana during high school, woke up every day during his junior year at 2:30 a.m. to cross the U.S./Mexico border and attend school in San Diego. Returning to Lynwood and supporting himself, he worked hard to become a model student, participating in summer engineering programs at UCLA, involving himself in after-school clubs, working a weekend job and earning a 3.75 GPA.
About 500 Lynwood Unified K-6 students will participate in the District’s inaugural Elementary Track and Field Meet starting at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, April 8 at Lynwood High School. This is the first year the District has funded the after-school track and field activities and coaches for all 12 elementary schools. Students who earn first- through fifth-place medals will represent Lynwood Unified at the Carson City Base Qualifying meet on Sunday, May 21 at Rancho Dominguez Preparatory School. The top runner will advance to the Southern California Municipal Athletic Federation Track and Field Championship on Sunday, June 4 at Warren High School in Downey. Lynwood High School is at 4050 E. Imperial Hwy.
Follow-up Story: One hundred Lady Falcons from Firebaugh High pledged to pursue their dreams no matter the obstacles at the school’s first Girl Chat Empowerment Conference, where students learned confidence-boosting techniques from a panel of powerful women and Lynwood Unified alumni. With a theme of “challenge yourself to change the narrative,” the conference called upon young women to equip themselves with skills and knowledge of self-efficacy, self-actualization, conflict resolution and motivation for positive change and choices.
