Seven Norwalk-La Mirada Unified schools were named to the Campaign for Business & Education Excellence (CBEE) 2016 Honor Roll, which recognizes higher-performing schools that narrow achievement gaps between student populations. One school was also named to the Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Honor Roll for excelling in math and science.
Norwalk High School freshman Dominique Guerrero saw the possibility of becoming a writer after her short story, “This is For You, Mom,” was published in a UC Irvine literary journal, which featured 18 writings from students across Norwalk-La Mirada Unified. The literary journal, Pathway to Academic Success, is a collection of exemplary essays, poems and narratives written by NLMUSD students from 2014 to 2016. The District partnered with the Pathways to Success program to adapt a professional development program created by Carol Booth Olson, director of the UCI Writing Project, to improve the reading and writing skills of English learners. Photos are available.
Norwalk High School has earned the SkillsUSA Gold Chapter of Distinction, a state recognition of hands-on community service outreach that qualifies the chapter for a finalist spot in the nationally acclaimed 2017 Model of Excellence Award. Automotive and culinary students combined their talents to create a community mobile food trailer to cater community and awareness events. Norwalk High previously won Gold Chapter Distinction and the Model of Excellence Award in 2015 and 2016. The school is one of two in California to receive the Model of Excellence Award and one of 12 across the nation to earn the award twice.
Norwalk-La Mirada Unified’s Waite Middle School has been recognized for raising student literacy over the last three years through Project Raising Educational Achievement for students with Disabilities (READ). Waite achieved Project READ’s Exemplar status by involving family and community members, aligning school English language arts curriculum with California Standards and teaching reading skills across all subjects. Photos are available
Norwalk-La Mirada Unified’s Nuffer Elementary School is encouraging fathers, uncles and other male figures to become more involved in their children’s education by participating in recess, lunchtime and classroom activities through the WatchDOGS, Dads of Successful Students, program. Nuffer is one of 5,707 schools across the United States and seven other countries to increase male involvement at their schools. Photos are available
All three of Norwalk-La Mirada Unified’s comprehensive high schools competed against 15 Los Angeles-area schools in the 2017 Chevron Design Challenge Saturday, April 1 at John Glenn High School. Project Lead The Way (PLTW) engineering design student teams were be pitted against each other as they created original designs and projects in front of a panel of professional engineers.
Students and community members across Norwalk and La Mirada had the opportunity to refine their career goals by speaking with industry professionals during a recent Career Exploration Night. Attendees participated in career workshops, including a special presentation provided by Microsoft. Industries included arts, education, fashion, hospitality and engineering.
Norwalk-La Mirada Unified Project Lead The Way (PLTW) coordinator Kelly Garcia was recognized as one of the top educators across the country as PLTW Teacher of the Year for middle school students. Garcia leads training workshops for educators across the state and creates science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) events to encourage girls to become interested in STEM careers. Photos are available.
More than 100 Norwalk-La Mirada High School students dressed up in professional attire as they participated in the second annual mock interview on Feb. 22. Students prepared for the mock interview since January, including writing resumes and practicing potential questions prior to sitting in front of professionals from Cerritos College, NLMUSD and the City of Norwalk.
Olympic gold medalist and La Mirada High graduate Jennie Finch teamed up with a cadre of Olympians and elite sluggers to coach and inspire 120 softball student athletes on Jan. 21-22 to dream and believe at La Mirada High School. Finch and her coaches conducted workshops on pitching, catching, fielding, hitting and fitness training. Finch posed for pictures with her Olympic medals, gave a pitching demonstration and spoke to campers about the sacrifices she made to be a world-class athlete. Photos are available.