California High School junior Hannah Ridge has been selected for the Choral Scholar Program for Vox Femina, a nationally acclaimed professional women’s choir based in Los Angeles. Ridge will perform in “Women on the Rise,” a June concert that marks the end of Vox Femina’s 20th year anniversary season. This is Ridge’s third year with her school choir.
Follow-up Story: Pioneer High School, which was recently named a National AVID Demonstration School, Whittier High School and Santa Fe High School held AVID College Signing Days for seniors on April 26. The schools provided a venue for students to celebrate their accomplishments and declare which college or university they are attending. AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is designed to close the achievement gap and provide students with tools for college and career success.
Whittier Union High School District has partnered with Rio Hondo College to offer students in its three alternative programs the opportunity to take a college-level course at their home campus this semester. Nearly 40 students from Frontier High School, a continuation school, Sierra Vista High School, an independent studies school, and Whittier Adult School are taking a three-unit introductory sociology course that is transferable to a community college, four-year California State University or University of California institution. It is the first time in eight years that a Rio Hondo College course has been offered at the Sierra Education Center campus, where the three schools are based.
Santa Fe High School drama teacher Alison Johnson has been selected for the inaugural class of the Advocacy Leadership Network, a three-year pilot initiative designed to train and empower members of the Educational Theatre Association. Johnson brings experience and enthusiasm to the project, having taught theater arts at Santa Fe, her alma mater, for 26 years. She is a co-director of Advocacy for the California Educational Theatre Association and has served on the California State Thespians board for over 20 years, acting as its student board liaison.
Pioneer High is the second Whittier Union High School District school to be named an AVID National Demonstration School for creating a college-going culture and raising student achievement through quality curriculum. AVID is offered at more than 5,600 campuses across the country, but fewer than 3 percent of the participating schools earn the distinction of being a demonstration school. Pioneer High School will begin to serve as a model for teachers and administrators from schools across the country that are in the process of implementing or refining AVID programs. Santa Fe High was first named an AVID Demonstration School in 2001 and has maintained its status since.
The Whittier Union High School District is inviting eighth-graders and their parents to attend Future Frosh Night on Thursday, March 23. Teachers, students and administrators at each of the District’s five comprehensive high schools will provide valuable information about the classes and programs available to all students. Times and locations for the informative event are as follows: California High School, 9800 S. Mills Ave., 6 p.m., in the main gym; La Serna High School, 15301 Youngwood Drive, 6 p.m., in the Locke gym; Pioneer High School, 10800 Benavon St., 6 p.m., in the quad; Santa Fe High School, 10400 S. Orr & Day Road, Santa Fe Springs, 6 p.m., in the Mendez gym; and Whittier High School, 12417 E. Philadelphia St., 5:45 p.m., in the auditorium. For information, call 562-698-8121.
A La Serna High School senior who has combined talent in the swimming pool and determination in the classroom, while being continually inspired by her family, is heading to the storied halls of Brown University to play water polo and pursue a degree in biomedical engineering. Carissa Perez is the high school’s three-time girls water polo captain and all-time leader in goals scored with 463. Her prowess in the water is matched by her academic brilliance, maintaining a 4.31 GPA. Perez’s parents are both first-generation Americans who have instilled a culture of high expectations.
Santa Fe High School has been re-validated as a National Demonstration School for AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), a college-readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges. An AVID campus for more than 20 years and a National Demonstration School since 2001, Santa Fe serves as a model to other schools wishing to implement the college preparation program. Only the top 3 percent of AVID schools reach this status.
Pioneer High School senior Lazarus Casillas endured great emotional hardship after the death of his mother six years ago, a struggle that spurred academic instability during his formative middle school years. Since finding a home at Pioneer, he has emerged as a student leader whose resilience and maturity serve as an inspiration to his schoolmates and the Titan faculty and staff. Through his personal resolve and with copious assistance from the staff in the Student Well-Being Program – a District mental wellness program that provides students and their families with social emotional support – Casillas transformed himself into a model student. The Whittier Union High School District Board of Trustees on Feb. 14 recognized Casillas for his character and perseverance with an Award of Merit.
California High School senior Lauren Anderson received early admission to Harvard University for her academic achievements. Only 14.5 percent of early applicants – or 938 out of 6,473 students – were admitted to the Ivy League school’s class of 2021. Anderson, who holds a 4.53 GPA, achieved top five out of five scores on all six of her Advanced Placement exams while balancing her responsibilities as the school’s Model U.N. team president and a track and field athlete. Anderson was named Cal High’s class of 2017 valedictorian and hopes to pursue her passion for history and politics by studying government at Harvard this fall.