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Whittier Union High School District

  • La Serna High Student Overcomes Anxiety, Receives Award of Merit for Resilience

    As La Serna High senior Brooke Chancellor enters her final semester of school, she is looking forward to joining her Lancer classmates for the upcoming whirlwind of graduation events celebrating the Class of 2026. Just two years ago, the odds of Chancellor participating in a commencement ceremony at La Serna seemed out of reach.

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  • Whittier Union Board Appoints Armando Urteaga to Trustee Area 5 Seat

    The Whittier Union High School District Board of Trustees unanimously appointed Whittier resident Armando Urteaga to serve as Trustee for Area 5 following a Special Board Meeting on Jan. 17. Urteaga will serve the remainder of the term through November 2026. The appointment followed interviews with six candidates conducted during the special meeting. After interviews and deliberation in open session, the Board selected Urteaga based on his extensive experience in public education and long-standing service to local school communities. Urteaga has been a resident of the Whittier area for 25 years and is a longtime public education leader with more than 30 years of experience serving students and families. He holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from California State University, Los Angeles, and a master’s degree in educational management and school administration from the University of La Verne.

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  • Whittier Union to Interview Seven Candidates to Fill Board of Trustees Vacancy

    he Whittier Union Board of Trustees will begin its process to fill the vacancy in Trustee Area 5 when it conducts interviews of seven eligible Whittier residents who seek a provisional appointment to the Board during a special Board of Trustees meeting to be held at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17 in the Whittier Union Board room. Community members are welcome to attend the open session in-person or via webinar to view the process and to participate in public comment prior to the interviews. Webinar information will be available next week on the District’s website.

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Whittier Union to Begin 2020-21 with 100% Distance Learning

Whittier Union High School District will begin the 2020-21 school year with a 100% distance learning schedule, converting the fall semester into a quarter system in which students will take three online classes in each of two nine-week periods starting Wednesday, Aug. 12. The Board of Trustees unanimously approved the 3x9 instructional model and launching the school year in Stage 1 of the District’s four-stage reopening plan during a July 28 virtual board meeting.

Whitter Union Wellness Collaborative Supports Students, Families, Staff

Whittier Union High School District has created a Social/Emotional Collaborative team to develop class lessons, tools and videos to support students, staff and parents who have experienced stress, difficulties and trauma due to the COVID-19 pandemic and help ease their transition to the 2020-21 school year. The social/emotional supports address a plethora of issues confronting students and families, including the effects of trauma on student learning, time management strategies, practicing mindfulness, the benefits of taking breaks from social media, coping strategies and the benefits of optimism, gratitude and resilience.

Whittier Union Celebrates Class of 2020 with Pomp and Circumstance

Whittier Union rolled out the red carpet and gave over 2,700 members of the Class of 2020 the star treatment during one-of-a-kind drive-up graduations that saw students walk across grand stages on their campuses and collect diplomas as families, sounding air horns and holding custom big-head cutouts, cheered from decorated vehicles, limousines and party buses. Every day during the week of July 20, each Whittier Union campus hosted socially distanced graduation ceremonies that provided students and families safe venues in which to celebrate after traditional ceremonies were canceled due to public health restrictions.

Whittier Union to Begin 2020-21 Fall Semester with 100% Distance Learning

Whittier Union High School District will begin the 2020-21 school year with a 100% distance learning schedule, converting the fall semester into a quarter system in which students will take three online classes in each of two nine-week periods starting Wednesday, Aug. 12. The Board of Trustees unanimously approved the 3x9 instructional model and launching the school year in Stage 1 of the District’s four-stage reopening plan during a July 28 virtual board meeting.

Whittier Union Develops Flexible Learning Plan for Fall 2020

Whittier Union High School District is exploring adopting a quarter system for the fall semester of the 2020-21 school year, which begins Aug. 12. The instructional model is part of a four-stage teaching and learning plan that is adaptable to the continuously changing environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the recommended instructional model and one of the four stages in which schools will reopen, which range from 100% online to 100% in-person, during a special meeting Tuesday, July 28, when health conditions will be clearer.

Harvard-bound Whittier Union Valedictorian Partners with PIH Health for COVID-19 Awareness Campaign

Before spending the next four years studying biomedical engineering at Harvard University, Whittier High School graduate Julia Casas is dedicating her summer to working with PIH Health Whittier Hospital to develop a volunteer social network and raise awareness of COVID-19 and the available health services in the community. Casas, who is one of Whittier High’s seven valedictorians for the Class of 2020, is working with PIH Health volunteer services and health marketing administrators to compile a large volunteer database; create a volunteer website, social media accounts and weekly newsletter; coordinate donations of personal protective equipment; and organize online fundraisers.

Whittier Union Develops Flexible Back-to-School Learning Plan for Fall 2020

Whittier Union High School District is exploring adopting a quarter system for the fall semester of the 2020-21 school year, which begins Aug. 12. The instructional model is part of a four-stage teaching and learning plan that is adaptable to the continuously changing environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the recommended instructional model and one of the four stages in which schools will reopen, which range from 100% online to 100% in-person, during a special meeting Tuesday, July 28, when health conditions will be clearer.

Whittier Union to Host Socially Distanced Drive-thru Graduations

Over 2,800 members of Whittier Union’s Class of 2020 will have the opportunity to walk across a stage set up on the campuses they’ve called home for the last four years while being cheered on by families who will have a front-stage view during socially distanced drive-thru graduation ceremonies. California High will hold its ceremony from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 20; La Serna will hold its ceremony from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 21; Santa Fe High will hold its ceremony from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 22; Whittier High will hold its ceremony from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 23; and Pioneer High will hold its event from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 24. On Wednesday, July 22, the Transition program will honor students from 4 to 5 p.m.; Sierra Vista will celebrate students from 5 to 7 p.m.; Frontier will honor grads from 7 to 8:30 p.m.; and Whittier Union Adult School will celebrate graduates from 8:30 to 9 p.m. at the Sierra Education Center campus.

Whittier Union Develops 4-Stage Back-to-School Learning Plan that Ensures Flexibility Amid Uncertainty

Whittier Union High School District is exploring adopting a quarter system for the fall semester of the 2020-21 school year, which begins Wednesday, Aug. 12. The instructional model is part of a four-stage teaching and learning plan that is adaptable to the continuously changing environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the surge of positive coronavirus cases across the state and Los Angeles County, school districts are developing flexible back-to-school learning plans that ensure the safety and well-being of students and staff and provide robust instruction to students – whether delivered online or in-person.

Socially Distanced Drive-thru Ceremonies to Commemorate Whittier Union Class of 2020 Graduates

Over 2,800 members of Whittier Union’s Class of 2020 will have the opportunity to walk across a stage set up on the campuses they’ve called home for the last four years while being cheered on by families who will have a front-stage view during socially distanced drive-thru graduation ceremonies taking place the week of July 20. Due to strict public health restrictions related to COVID-19, the District postponed in-person graduation ceremonies that were originally scheduled in June. Drive-thru ceremonies are now permitted in Los Angeles County under recently updated public health guidelines.