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)
Lynwood High School head coach Ellis Barfield has been selected as one of four court coaches for the 2014 USA Basketball Women’s U17 World Championship Team Trials taking place May 22-26 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. This is the second time Barfield will serve as a USA Basketball coach. Barfield, who has been at the helm of the Lynwood High School girls varsity team for 22 years and has won five state titles, previously served as an assistant coach for the USA West Team in the 2003 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival, helping the squad to a 2-3 record and bronze medal. Photos of Barfield are available. Media contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404 (office)
To celebrate the creative spirit of Lynwood Unified and its students, the District, along with the visual and performing arts programs at Lynwood and Firebaugh high schools and the City of Lynwood, will host the first-ever Lynwood Festival of the Arts from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 10 at Lynwood High School. This exciting event will feature many forms of art, including live student and community dances, musical and theatrical performances, culinary arts demonstrations, student art galleries, a photo booth and a live chalk art contest. Media contact: Juliette Funes, (909) 445-1001 (office)
Follow-up Story: Follow-up Story: Lynwood Unified’s Firebaugh High School recently held a special remembrance event to celebrate the life and achievements of its late namesake, Assemblyman Marco Antonio Firebaugh, including his landmark legislation, Assembly Bill 540, which makes college more affordable for many undocumented students by allowing them to pay in-state tuition fees. Scholarships were also awarded to college-bound AB540 students during the ceremony. Photos are available. Contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404 (office)
As Lynwood Unified continues making extensive progress on beautifying several school campuses utilizing a $93 million Measure K facilities bond, the District is gearing up to kick off the second phase of essential repairs at 11 schools that will include exterior painting, new roofing and asphalt repairs, the installation of an HVAC system and facility improvements at the Pathway Independent Studies building. The District is also nearing completion of $2 million worth of projects under Phase 1B, part of the first group of construction projects funded under the voter-approved bond that began last June and will continue this summer. Photos are available. Contact: Juliette Funes, (909) 445-1001 (office)
The Lynwood Unified School District is inviting parents, students, staff and community members to participate in an online survey that will help shape District spending priorities and services needed to support student growth and academic achievement. Under the state’s new funding rules, school districts are required to adopt a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), which will guide the expenditure of state funds based on the particular needs of their students. LUSD has developed the LCAP Stakeholder Input Survey to help establish priorities for the development of the three-year plan. The online survey, available in English and Spanish, must be completed by Friday, April 25. Contact: Juliette Funes, 909-445-1001 (office)
Lynwood Unified is making great strides in completing extensive construction and renovation work at Washington and Lincoln elementary schools, which have seen their outdated portable classrooms transform into permanent, state-of-the-art and energy-efficient classroom buildings. While work on the new buildings is expected to be complete before the end of this school year, site work at each campus – including newly paved parking lots and last finishing touches around the sites – is slated for completion by July and August for Lincoln and Washington, respectively, in time for the fall semester. Photos of the progress at each campus are available. Contact: Juliette Funes, (909) 447-2404 (office)
More than 200 Vista High School students and their families are expected to take part in the second annual Open House and College and Career Fair, which is geared toward helping students prepare for life after graduating high school, from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9. The Open House and College and Career Fair was created to give all students of Vista High School, Lynwood Unified’s continuation school, the opportunity to succeed in college and career after high school. All Vista students will participate in the event as part of their Senior Project to ensure that they have a transition plan after they graduate. Contact: Juliette Funes, (909) 445-1001 (office)
Nearly 300 kindergarten- through sixth-grade students at Mark Twain Elementary are participating in a 10-week series of after-school piano, drumline and art classes after the school community raised $14,000 through a candy sale fundraiser. During a media open house from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, students will be available to speak about their experience in the program, and school and district leaders will also be on hand to discuss how state budgets have limited the ability of public schools to offer arts programs to students. Contact: Maritza Fairfield, 909-445-1001 (office) or 909-816-7722 (cell)
As Lynwood Unified prepares to kick off its enrollment period, the District is hosting an informational meeting to provide parents with resources related to LUSD’s kindergarten and transitional kindergarten programs. District officials will present information related to registration requirements, curriculum and ways parents can help prepare their children for the upcoming school year. The meeting takes place at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18 at the District Office, 11321 Bullis Road, Lynwood. Contact: Juliette Funes, 909-447-2404 (office)
