The 7th grade ABCUSD Migrant Education Debate Team took First Place at the LA County Office of Education’s Migrant Education Program Speech Competition. The team will travel to Monterey in May to participate in the state competition. Congratulations to the winning team of Yeraldin Cruz (Haskell Middle School), Monzeratt Garcia Segovia (ABC Virtual Academy), Tiffany Hurtado (Fedde Middle School), Emelina Vargas (Fedde Middle School), and Eduardo Garcia-Rodriguez (Fedde Middle School). Congratulations also go to those students who placed in their competitions:
Angel Sangabriel (Ross Middle School) - Second Place in Prepared Speech
Danna Herrer (Haskell Middle School) - Second Place in Prepared & Extemporaneous Speech, Spanish
Gerardo Garcia Segovia (Ross Middle School) - Third Place in Extemporaneous Speech
Francisco Flores, Deifilia Espinosa, Sara Baragan, Bryan Garibaldo, and Emanuel Guzman, all from Fedde Middle School - Second Place in Team Debate
A special thank you goes to Carver Academy and Migrant Education teacher, Mrs. Connie Nam, for coaching and leading these amazing students.
Congresswoman Steel Holds Student Art Competition
It’s time for the Congressional Art Competition! Congresswoman Steel invites middle and high school students to submit original artwork to be considered in this year’s competition. The winning artwork will be displayed for one year at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. All submissions must be turned in by April 12, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. Click here for more information about this year’s Congressional Art Competition.
City of Artesia Scholarship
The City of Artesia developed a Scholarship Program to provide financial assistance and support for the academic efforts of high school seniors living in Artesia. The program provides scholarship opportunities to students pursuing a college education or learning a trade or vocation, with scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000. All applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on April 19, 2024. More information and the program application can be found here.
Hispanic Latino Family Circle
All are welcome to attend the Hispanic-Latino Family Circle general meeting and reception on Monday, March 25, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. The purpose of the Hispanic-Latino Family Circle is to share the needs of Hispanic-Latino families and students, and it is held in conjunction with the District’s Equity Office. RSVP here. Contact our Equity Officer, Mr. Blain Watson, with any questions.
Students from Cerritos High School, Ross Middle School, and Whitney High School participated in the 74th Annual Los Angeles County Science & Engineering Fair earlier this month at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles. It was a packed event, with 927 students presenting 694 projects. Among those 697 students were 15 from ABCUSD. Students will learn how their projects faired at the LACSEF Awards Presentation this Sunday.
Here are our students who participated in this year’s LACSEF:
Cerritos High School
Yujun Ge, 10th grade
Ross Middle School
Allix Andrade-8th grade, Naima Holmes-8th grade, Dylan Linsangan-7th grade, Daphne Linsangan-7th grade, Ava Jones-7th Grade, Josue Smith-7th Grade, Meet Saini-7th Grade
Whitney High School
Hyunjoon Noh-10th grade, Alvin Kim-11th grade, Ahtreya Sriram-11th grade, Samaragye Medhasi-11th grade, Karuna Lamichhane-11th grade, Neha Agrawai-10th grade, Sanjay Ganapathy-10th grade
This past weekend, students from Artesia High School participated in the Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) competition at California State University, Long Beach. MESA is a festival of learning, discovery, competition, activities, and fun that encourages students to consider careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math. Congratulations to the students who took home awards:
Adam Polim, Adrian Herrera, Alejandro Zuniga, Andres Gomez, Anthony Robles, Arianne Delgado, Colin Im, Daniel Loera, Daniel Ramos Cabrera, Diego Lopez, Felix Menjivar, Ian Perez, Jazzlyn Jara, Oswalko de Leon, Luis Barragan, Michael Vargas, M. Kaysan Nasif, Oswaldo Castendeda, Shankar Gadtaula, Valerie China, and William Bollas
ABC Unified School District Board President Mrs. Sophia Tse and Superintendent Dr. Gina Zietlow updated the District’s city partners on Monday, March 18, 2024. City Council members and senior city staff from Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, and Norwalk learned more about the District’s finances, how funding is used, hiring staff, and the challenges the District faces, including declining enrollment.
The ABCUSD Board of Education held a Special Study Session and its regular meeting on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, and took the following actions:
- Held a Special Study Session to learn more about how the District will implement the new Ethnic Studies Courses
- Students from Nixon Elementary School led the flag salute and shared information about their school
- Recognized Fedde Academy (Middle School) for earning redesignation as a School to Watch
- Heard a presentation about Curriculum and Learning Experiences for Students with Diverse Abilities, presented by Dr. Roschell Chavez, SELP Director, and Dr. Socorro Verduzco, Director of Pupil Support Services
- Student Board Representatives from Tracy High School shared information about their school, including how the school has impacted their lives, dual enrollment with Cerritos College and Long Beach City College, cornhole tournament, Red Cross and Peace clubs, and the upcoming prom
- Citizens’ Oversight Committee Outgoing Chair, Mr. William Zylstra, presented the annual report for Measure BB, reporting on the status of the work and the results of the annual audit of the bond program, and the Board accepted the report
- Approved a request to contract with Patchin Consulting, LLC, to provide two in-person workshops and one student assembly titled “Pause Before You Post!” to District administrators, one middle school, and one every parent event for the 2023-2024 school year
- Approved Revised Board Policy 1112 - Media Relations
- Approved a request to contract with Galileo Learning to provide approximately 924 K-6 grade students with 10 one-hour hands-on STEAM enrichment classes, class supply kits, and in-person teacher training for the 2023-2024 school year and for the 2024 Elementary Summer Enrichment Program
- Approved a request to contract with Day Dreams, LLC - DBA: The Coder School of Cerritos to provide two 2-week Coding Program, one in April 2024 and one in June 2024
- Approved a request to contract with Windtree Education, Inc., to provide 1-6 grade Migrant Education students with a two-week STEAM program in June and July 2024
- Approved a request to contract with CyberForward Academy, LLC; Future N Focus - DBA: Dream Catcher; Key Code Media, Inc.; Josh Friedman - DBA: One Zero Digital Media; The Regents of the University of California to provide summer Career Technical Education enrichment programs for students in grades 7-10 for the 2023-2024 Summer School
- Approved new Visual and Performing Arts Career Technical Education courses titled: Introduction to Performance, Music and Live Events; Intermediate State and Event Technology/Advanced Stage and Event Technology; Intermediate CTE Theater/Advanced CTE Theater; Studio Art 1/Studio Art 2 to begin in the fall of the 2024-2025 school year
- Approved a request to adopt the following textbooks: T’es Branche, Dekiru! An AP Japanese Preparation Course, Compass Japanese Intermediate Resource Book, Que Chevere, AP Spanish: Preparing for the Exam, Readings in Chinese Culture, Volume 1, “The Sky is Bright with Starts”, Anecdotas Inicial: Vida Actualidad y Cultura; Lever 3, Anecdotas: Vida, Actualidad & Cultura; Levels 1 & 2, The Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis, Workbook and Ear-Training, Guide to Aural Skills: Sigh-Singing, 4th Edition, The Musician’s Guide to Theory and Analysis, 4th AP Edition, digital student access for the 2024-2025 school year
- Approved a request to submit an application to the California Department of Education for the College and Career Access Pathways Grant
- Approved a request to submit an application to the California Department of Education for the Middle College and Early College Grant
- Approved Bid Award ABC-1643 E-Rate unit price data cabling to AMS.Net as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder with options to renew annually for up to four additional years
- Approved contract to Crown Castle Fiber for internet services for three years
You can watch a video recording of the Board Meeting online. The Board will hold its next Regular Meeting on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at 7:00 p.m.