Follow-up Story: Lynwood Unified celebrated nearly 1,000 graduates from Lynwood, Firebaugh and Vista high schools and Pathway Independent Studies program during commencement exercises on June 13 and 14, with the exhilarated Class of 2016 Knights, Falcons and Eagles ready to take their next steps toward college and careers. More than 92 percent of Lynwood Unified graduates plan to attend four-year universities. Of these students, more than 25 percent plan to pursue majors in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, while more than 75 percent say they are the first in their family to attend a four-year university. Photos are available.
Students at Bellflower and Lynwood unified school districts are now able to enroll for fall 2016 in 14 new hands-on career technical education (CTE) courses in policing, firefighting, nursing, culinary arts, visual arts, business and health. The courses are being offered through California Advancing Pathways for Students (CalAPS), a joint powers authority set up by the districts to expand CTE offerings. The semester-long courses will run in afternoons and on weekends at high schools in both districts.
Senior Carlos Henriquez became the sixth Lynwood High student to graduate from a certificate program at Cerritos College while enrolled in high school. As part of Project Lead The Way’s engineering career pathway, Henriquez received a Certificate of Achievement in Engineering Design and Technology after completing nine college courses. Henriquez is certified as an associate in mechanical design and expects to complete a certificate as a professional in mechanical design this summer. He will study mechanical engineering at UC Merced in fall.
Lynwood Unified is set to host its three high school graduation ceremonies next week at Lynwood High School, 4050 Imperial Highway. Firebaugh High will host its ceremony at 7 p.m. Monday, June 13 at Lynwood District Field. Vista High School will hold commencement at 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 14 in the Lynwood High School gym. Lynwood High School with hold its ceremony at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 14 at Lynwood District Field.
Follow-up Story: More than 2,000 parents, students and community members attended Lynwood Unified’s third annual festival of the arts, themed The Woods, where students presented dance and band performances, arts and crafts and theater skits to showcase the District’s rich visual and performing arts program. The festival, held at Firebaugh High School, featured nearly 20 dance ensembles, musical performances and sidewalk chalk art, finger-puppet making, a wishing tree, spray paint designs and T-shirt tie-dying. Photos are available.
Firebaugh High students and staff were taped to a pole, pied in the face and kissed by swine during Wish Week, raising more than $1,200 to help grant a Lynwood child’s Make-A-Wish dream. Each day of the week carried a theme for student attire and fundraisers that included playing annoying songs, throwing pies at students and staff, taping an assistant principal to a pole and watching the principal kiss a pig.
Open access to high-level courses, expansion of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs and increased emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) have helped boost Lynwood Unified’s graduation rates to record highs in 2014-15. The graduation rate rose from 80.8 percent to 89.1 percent at Lynwood High School, the larger of the District’s two comprehensive high schools. Firebaugh High School’s rate – already high in 2014 – rose nearly two percentage points to 90.4 percent. The figures measure graduation rates for the cohort of students who entered ninth grade in 2011.
Cesar Chavez Middle School’s Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) team brought home a slew of awards from an April 9 Riverside regional competition, including second place overall in the Prosthetic Arm Challenge 2.0. Out of about 350 students representing 35 schools at the regionals, the Chavez team of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders won first, second and third place for balsawood gliders, mousetrap cars, a math exam and an EggXpress packaged egg drop challenge. Eighth-graders Rebecca Valdez, Sofia Medina, Symphony Esqueda and Alicia Liera teamed up to take home second place overall for the Prosthetic Arm Challenge 2.0. Photos are available
Follow-up Story: More than 100 parents learned about summer learning activities, safe use of social media and the importance of creating dynamic family partnerships on May 14 during Lynwood Unified School District’s second Parent University at Marshall Elementary School. Workshops, which were also available for Spanish speakers, provided resources and strategies to help parents guide children through the transition into middle school, high school and throughout the summer.
Follow-up Story: More than 390 Firebaugh High seniors celebrated their college, university, military and other future commitments on May 18 in front of a roaring crowd of 1,400 underclassmen during College Signing Day, a nationwide program initiated by first lady Michelle Obama to encourage all students to attend college and support those already planning their college and future ventures. The event included the recitation of the first alma mater in Firebaugh’s 11-year history and an announcement of the top 10 seniors and Jennifer Montanez and Itzel Esmeralda Burgos as co-valedictorians for the Class of 2016. Photos are available.
