Whittier Union High School District held a special Board of Trustees meeting on Dec. 15, administering the Oath of Office to returning Trustee Dr. Ralph S. Pacheco and newly elected Trustee Jaime Lopez. During the meeting, Pacheco was named president, Dr. Russell Castaneda-Calleros was named vice president and Jeff Baird was named clerk.
Two Whittier Union Adult School class sections successfully completed the Electrician 1 course in December. The course, held in-person with COVID-19 health and safety protocols in place, is designed to prepare students to enter the Union Apprenticeship program at the Electrical Institute in the City of Commerce and provide interview preparation for the required Math and Mechanical Reasoning Entry Test.
Whittier Union High School District’s Board of Trustees presented outgoing member Tim Schneider with flowers and a plaque of recognition at its November meeting, honoring the longtime Whittier resident for helping to create and maintain a unique educational culture during his 13 years of service. Schneider focused on strengthening the bond between parents, teachers and students, and pushed for diversity and equity.
La Serna High School seniors are connecting with one another to offer advice through a new Instagram series, “Wednesday Wisdom.” In the most recent episode, seniors Marcus Ruiz, Melea Earley, Katie Garcia, Justin Hernandez, Remy Vigil, Jayben Romo and Adrian Marquez offered advice for mental wellness and being organized as students tackle assignments and college applications. In short video sequences, the seniors suggested daily mental wellness checks; encouraged the use of a daily planner to track deadlines; and highlighted the importance of not getting in the way of your own goals.
About 100 Whittier-area families in need received an outpouring of holiday cheer complete with Thanksgiving dinner fixings and a $25 Stater Bros. gift card at a Turkey Drive held at Pioneer High School on Nov. 15. The event was conceived by Helping Homeless Veterans-LA President and founder Cynthia Perry-Lopez and her husband, John Lopez, who is Pioneer’s campus operations supervisor. Families began lining up for the Turkey Drive at 4 a.m. Each car received a grocery bag filled with boxes of stuffing and mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, gravy and the gift card.
Whittier Union California High School senior George Felton was recognized with an Award of Merit from the Whittier Union Board of Trustees on Nov. 10 for his unwavering commitment to academics and athletics. Felton is known on campus for his big heart and positive attitude, a dedicated student who never backs down from a challenge. Felton, who has been in the California foster care system since he was 11 years old, has gone to great lengths to remain at Cal High. Felton has a 3.45 GPA and has been a member of the Cal High football team for four years. After graduation, Felton wants to study criminology and become a police officer.
Whittier Union High School District announced on Nov. 12 the extension of remote learning to the end of December 2020. Whittier Union will remain in Stage 1 of the District’s 4-Stage Back to School Plan until the end of December and reevaluate health data when spring semester begins in January. In the meantime, the District continues to check in with individual schools to ensure all sites have the resources needed to keep students and staff safe for their return to classrooms.
Whittier High School will host a mental health drive-thru for students from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday Dec. 11, to strengthen student well-being. Counselors and administrators will greet families, distributing stress balls, fidget spinners, snacks and office supplies. The drive-thru event is one of several mental wellness interventions Whittier High is offering as part of a focus on well-being.
The Whittier Union High School District Board of Trustees approved new curriculum for the 2020-21 school year that will help seniors assess their post-secondary education opportunities as well as add rigor to its career technical education (CTE) pathways. The new courses include a College and Career Seminar for seniors, a Project Lead The Way Honors course in digital electronics, an advanced architectural design and graphics course for its Industrial Technology pathway, and a college prep English course, Rhetoric and E-Sports, for its Marketing pathway. All the new courses are one-year in length and will fulfill UC and Cal State admission requirements.
Whittier Union’s Frontier High School, Sierra Vista High School and Whittier Union Adult School are launching a new tradition to recognize student achievement during remote learning and support their efforts to unify the district’s alternative education sites. Beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, all three schools will acknowledge their Student of the Term during a virtual award ceremony.