Using a new funding model that provides more resources to address the needs of Lynwood Unified’s students, the Board of Education on June 24 passed a balanced general fund budget and its first Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) for the 2014-15 academic year, ensuring that every student will be adequately prepared for success in college and career. The LCAP, created through a collaborative and inclusive process that involved teachers, parents, students and stakeholders, prioritizes funding to increase student achievement. Plans include instituting community-based youth leadership programs, social workers, behavioral intervention programs, instructional coaches and other programs and services that align with the district’s Achieving Greatness Initiative. Media contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404 (office)
At the start of their high school years at Lynwood Unified, students Enrique Ruelas and Milan Pearson each faced personal challenges that caused them to put school on the back-burner and diminish any hopes they had of ever graduating. Ruelas, who dropped out of school in 10th-grade, was surrounded by death and violence in his neighborhood, while Pearson spiraled downward when his mother died in 2010. With support from their families and seeing what life would be like without an education, Pearson and Ruelas returned to school and graduated in June from the District's continuation school programs. They were each recently awarded a $250 Board of Education and Superintendent's Scholarship to go toward their pursuits in higher education. Photos of Pearson and Ruelas are available. Media contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404 (office)
Young filmmakers from Lynwood High School and Hosler Middle School who participated in the Tribeca Film Project will screen their short films at the inaugural Youth Film Screening at 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 28. The program, in partnership with Lynwood Unified, St. Francis Medical Center, the Tribeca Film Institute and Southern California Crossroads, is meant to provide youth with positive alternatives to negative lifestyles. As part of the program, the young filmmakers had the opportunity to raise awareness about issues in the Lynwood community while also gaining invaluable experience in the world of film. Three Lynwood High School students had the opportunity present their film project at an exclusive screening of all New York and Los Angeles Tribeca Teaches films at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in April. Actor Jorge Diaz will be a special guest speaker. Media contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404
Follow-up Story: Follow-up Story: Lynwood Unified recently celebrated the graduation of nearly 900 students who reached the important milestone of receiving their high school diplomas and beginning a new chapter in their journeys into career and higher education. During commencement ceremonies for 890 Lynwood, Firebaugh and Vista high schools June 11-12, students, along with parents, friends, teachers, administrators and members of the LUSD Board of Trustees, celebrated the culmination of their primary and secondary school careers and walked across the stage to receive the credentials they have been working years to earn. Photos are available. Media contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404 (office)
Follow-up Story: Follow-up Story: Just days ahead of their high school graduation, 120 Lynwood High students got a dose of what it’s like to survive in the real world, complete with grappling with student loan debt, paying bills and raising a family, during a money management seminar on Friday, June 6. Under the program, called Mad City Money, the Lynwood High School seniors, who are graduating on June 11, engaged in a four-hour hands-on simulation, where they took on the role of an adult with a set income and the responsibility of making endless decisions. Photos will be available. Media contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404 (office)
Follow-up Story: Follow-up Story: Students in Lynwood Unified’s Migrant Education 21st Century Writer's program were enthralled with educational performance group, The Imagination Machine, which performed the short stories that the K-8 students have been working on for 13 weeks on May 31. The writing class is part of the federally-funded Migrant Education program, which serves students whose family’s migratory patterns – due to work in the agricultural, dairy, lumber or fishing industries – require them to change schools frequently. Photos are available. Media contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404 (office)
Firebaugh High School student Melody Esqueda is one of 1,000 students across the country selected to receive the Gates Millennium Scholarship. As a recipient of the award, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the USC-bound student will have her entire education paid for. Melody, who has a 4.65 GPA and will graduate in June, plans to get bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees and is considering pursuing careers in environmental science, business or the cinematic arts. Photos of Melody are available. Media contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404 (office)
Follow-up Story: Follow-up Story: To help support, empower and provide resources to Lynwood Unified’s pregnant and parenting teens as they continue their education, the District, in partnership with El Nido Family Centers and the City of Lynwood, hosted a Pregnant and Parenting Teen Symposium on Thursday, May 22 at Bateman Hall. Approximately 60 pregnant and parenting teens participated in workshops, including co-parenting, health information and stress management, as well as sessions on academic advisement and higher education and career options. The keynote was delivered by City of Lynwood Mayor and former teen mom, Aide Castro. Photos are available. Media contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404 (office)
Washington Elementary School was recently honored with the 2013-14 Title I Academic Achievement Award, which is granted to schools that have shown significant efforts to increase achievement for low-performing students. It is one of 106 public educational institutions to receive the award. The accolade acknowledges that Washington Elementary has logged above-average performance progress on standardized testing for two or more years in a row and has made extensive progress in closing the achievement gap among the school’s socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404 (office)
