Follow-up Story: Families cheered as about 350 students from South Whittier’s Graves Middle School celebrated the end of their middle school careers and beginning of the next chapter of their lives during a June 8 promotion ceremony at the Vic Lopez Auditorium at Whittier High School.
Follow-up Story: Nearly 3,000 students from the Whittier Union High School District’s five comprehensive high schools, two alternative high schools, adult school and transition program celebrated the end of their high school careers and beginning of the next chapter of their lives at commencement ceremonies June 5-7. Whittier Union’s graduates will be attending state and national universities, including Harvard, Stanford, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley and other colleges within both the University of California and California State University systems.
Follow-up Story: Frontier High School celebrated its golden anniversary with a field day for students and a reunion of former principals who reminisced about their years leading Whittier Union’s continuation school to help students overcome challenges to reach their dreams. Former administrators who attended the May 5 event included Gabe Moorman, Tom Roberts, Carlye Olsen and inaugural principal Merv Bloom. Frontier High, a six-time Model Continuation School, provides alternative education services to students in grades 10 to 12 who are behind in credits or need a more flexible schedule.
Whittier Union student Nestor Jurado grew up with a love for competitive sports and a dream of playing professional soccer. However, his ambitious goal of playing eight sports in two years was sidelined during his sophomore year at California High School, when he had knee surgery. Devastated over the setback and faced with a long rehabilitation period, Jurado in summer 2016 enrolled at Sierra Vista High School, the District’s independent study program. Determined to direct his boundless energy toward academics and graduate a year early, Jurado hit the ground running, completing his credits, studying hard and taking on new classes as quickly as possible. He is poised to graduate in June with a 3.5 GPA.
Four Santa Fe High School seniors who have juggled personal challenges with academic excellence are celebrating their selection as 2017 Dell Scholars, receiving $20,000 apiece in scholarships for their post-secondary education. Jesus Muneton will attend UCLA to pursue chemical engineering; Isaac Zarate is heading to UC Irvine to study political science; Nicolas Mabey will study business at UCLA; and Angie Torres will explore math at UC San Diego.
La Serna High School junior Elizabeth Islas will venture to Washington D.C. to see her award-winning drawing on display in the U.S. Capitol after taking the top prize at the 38th District for the 2017 Congressional Art Competition. The national contest recognizes and encourages artistic talent among high schoolers from across the country. Islas on April 13 was awarded best overall work for her piece, “A Form of Expression,” by U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez.
When Janice Palapa enrolled at Frontier High School as a junior in August 2016, she was far behind in her school credits, in low spirits and planned to stay only for as long as it took her to get back on track to graduate. Since then, Palapa has marched in the 2017 Rose Bowl Parade as a Gold Award Girl Scout, joined the school’s Associated Student Body and Soroptimist student club, and serves as a student representative on Frontier’s Site Council and LCAP Advisory Board, all while earning a year’s worth of credits in one semester. Now, Palapa will walk as an FHS class of 2018 graduate. The military-bound student was recognized by the District with an Award of Merit on April 11.
Santa Fe High School seniors Isaac Zarate, Jesus Muneton, Nicolas Mabey and Angie Torres will graduate this year with $80,000 in collective scholarships. The students are participants in AVID – Advancement Via Individual Determination – and were named Dell Scholars for their accomplishments in high school and essays highlighting personal and financial obstacles. Zarate will attend UC Irvine for political science, Mabey will attend UCLA as a business major and Torres will study mathematics at UC San Diego. Muneton is on track to graduate as valedictorian and will study chemical engineering at UCLA.
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.