The California School Boards Association has awarded a Golden Bell to Norwalk-La Mirada Unified’s Los Coyotes Middle School program for a student mentoring program that supports incoming sixth-graders as they transition from elementary to middle school. The school received the award Nov. 9. The mentoring program, called Where Everybody Belongs (WEB), was commended for providing eighth-grade mentors who connect with new students, making them feel welcome and looking out for them throughout their first year in middle school.
Assemblymember Ian Calderon on Oct. 26. presented Norwalk-La Mirada Unified’s Benton Middle School with $5,000 from the Barona Band of Mission Indians for the school’s visual and performing arts programs. The education grant will go toward materials for the drama department, art supplies and a 3-D printer. The Barona Band of Mission Indians created the grant to assist California schools with technology upgrades and to provide additional support and resources.
Twenty-six students from Norwalk-La Mirada Unified’s Benton Middle School won ribbons in photography and studio arts at the Los Angeles County Fair (LACF) America’s Kids fine arts competition. Benton students earned 12 first-place, 13 second-place and two third-place ribbons, as well as two sweepstakes awards, the highest recognition for an LACF winner. Photos are available.
Students across Norwalk-La Mirada Unified’s 17 elementary, six middle and three high schools followed safety drills to “Drop, Cover, and Hold!” on Oct. 20 during the annual Great ShakeOut, a statewide initiative that reminds Californians to be prepared in the event of an earthquake. Leading up to the drill, administrators reinforced earthquake drill procedures with students, including finding appropriate cover to prevent objects from injuring them, where to go for safety and where to find first-aid kits in classrooms. Photos are available.
Follow-up Story: More than 2,000 Norwalk-La Mirada Unified students and their parents convened in the John Glenn High gymnasium for the fifth annual NLMUSD College Expo on Oct. 19. Representatives from over 50 colleges and universities, displaying school colors and pennants, were on hand, along with career technical schools and U.S. military branches, to distribute information pamphlets and discuss admissions policies and post-secondary options with students of all ages and their families. The expo was organized by Norwalk-La Mirada counselors. Photos are available.
A federally funded program donated more than five tons of backpacks and school supplies on Sept. 19 to benefit 1,100 homeless and foster students at Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District. K to College, in collaboration with the District’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Education program, delivered 10 pallets of school supplies, including 776 backpacks for homeless students and 324 for students who are foster children. The first batch of backpacks was distributed at Sanchez Elementary on Sept. 21.
Waite Middle School celebrated the opening of its college and career center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 30. The center provides students with access to resources and workshops about UC and CSU admission requirements, develop job readiness skills, create eight-year education plans, and more. Photos are available.
Norwalk High auto repair teacher Ken Cook has been awarded a 2016 Fender Bender Award by Fender Bender Magazine for working with his students – of whom 41 percent have special needs – to improve mobility options for students with disabilities through an initiative dubbed Inspired Inventions. Working with a $97,321 grant from the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, Cook and his students created projects that include a backpack equipped with skateboard wheels and a bicycle modified for an 8-year-old student with severe disabilities.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has honored Norwalk-La Mirada Unified’s Johnston Elementary School Relay For Life Norwalk fundraising team with the “Spirit of Relay” award for raising $10,000 during the 2016 Relay For Life event in June. Relay For Life Norwalk Coordinator Jennifer Perez and ACS representative Sarah Ambrose presented the award during a flag ceremony on Sept. 23. Photos are available.
Norwalk-La Mirada Unified students showed improvement during the second round of standardized testing on the new California Standards for English language arts (ELA) and math, according to a new state report. The two tests are the centerpiece of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), administered to grades three through eight, and grade 11. The exams, created by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, gauge writing, critical thinking and problem solving skills far beyond the scope of California’s previous standardized tests. Norwalk-La Mirada Unified students met or exceeded state proficiency standards by up to 4 percentage points. Additionally, NLMUSD students matched or beat most L.A. County district student subgroups in ELA, while third-grade students' math scores exceeded L.A. County districts in most subgroups and were especially strong for African-American students and students with disabilities. This year, NLMUSD will begin implementing a system of intervention strategies to ensure struggling students receive personalized instruction to prevent them from falling behind their classmates.
