By Juliette Funes

Photo Courtesy: PUSD
Pomona Unified children line up to receive age-appropriate school materials, during the District’s Family Support and Resource Center’s annual Backpack and School Supply Giveaway event on Aug. 5.

Pomona – Hundreds of Pomona Unified children received complimentary backpacks and school supplies at District Family Support and Resource Center’s annual Backpack and School Supply Giveaway on Aug. 5, a week before the start of the school on Aug. 12.

Now celebrating its fourth year, the event provided Pomona Unified families with more than 1,800 free backpacks filled with age-appropriate school materials, including books, pencils, folders and binders.

“With the start of school just around the corner, it is great to see our kids enthusiastic about getting their new backpacks and school supplies and I want to thank the Family Support and Resource Center for bringing this program to them,” said Board President Andrew Wong. “Through this event, the District is helping to ensure our students are able to focus on learning and successfully tackling the new school year.”

The Family Support and Resource Center supports Pomona Unified students and families with a variety of services and referrals that address mental health, alcohol and substance abuse, health care and housing, as well as emergency basic support referrals and assistance for clothing, food, utilities, furniture/household items or school items.

Originally organized to assist the District’s homeless student population, the backpack giveaway event has become a vital resource for Pomona Unified families and students who need school supplies and books for the new school year.

The items were donated by several community groups, including Feed the Children, Christ’s Church of the Valley in San Dimas and School on Wheels, which provides tutoring, school supplies and other educational assistance to children in Southern California.

For more information about the Family Support and Resource Center, call (909) 397-4491, ext. 26501.

English-Mandarin coming to Pantera Elementary

By Juliette Funes

Pomona – One class of Pantera Elementary kindergarteners will learn how to read, write and communicate effectively in both English and Mandarin through the introduction of the Pomona Unified School District’s latest dual-language immersion program.

Launched on Aug. 12, the first day of school for Pomona Unified students, the new program will provide Mandarin and English language instruction to 25 kindergarten students, ensuring they receive an exciting and challenging educational opportunity where they will gain the bilingual skills needed to succeed in a 21^st century world.

The inaugural class at Pantera (located at 801 Pantera Drive in Diamond Bar) is already full, but Pomona Unified is accepting sign-ups for the 2016-17 academic year.

“Pomona Unified is incorporating this new English-Mandarin dual-immersion program to provide our students the tools they need to succeed in a globally competitive and multicultural market, all while improving their literacy skills and engaging in the District’s rigorous core curriculum,” Board of Education President Andrew Wong said.

The program follows a 50:50 model, where 50 percent of instruction will occur in the target language of Mandarin and 50 percent of instruction will be in English, including 30 minutes of daily English language development dedicated to English learners. The class is comprised of native English speakers and native Mandarin speakers, enabling both sets of students to interact and learn new vocabulary skills.

“This program presents our students with a unique opportunity to speak multiple languages both inside and beyond the walls of a traditional classroom,” said Pantera Elementary School Principal Todd Riffell. “Students’ education will be enhanced because of the cultural awareness, acceptance and rich language that is shared and exchanged between students enrolled in these classrooms.”

As students advance in the program, they will demonstrate proficiency in both languages, navigating complex material in English and Mandarin. Students enrolled in this program also have the chance to earn a State Seal of Biliteracy on their high school diplomas.

As part of the District’s 2015-18 Local Control and Accountability Plan, Pomona Unified is also expanding its English-Spanish language immersion program – which just completed its first year at Westmont Elementary – to Montvue Elementary School this fall.

“Pomona’s dual-language program embraces and acknowledges the rich cultural diversity of our community,” Superintendent Richard Martinez said. “By the time students reach the 6^th Grade, they will have spent seven academic years immersed in bilingual, bicultural and biliterate studies, which will prove invaluable as they continue their education.”

For more information on the program, visit www.pusd.org/DLI.

Pomona Unified receives $45,000 in donated instruments

Photo Courtesy: PUSD
Seated in the center are Pomona Unified School District Board Member Frank Guzman, left, Superintendent Richard Martinez, Fairplex Vice President Dale Coleman and Board Member Dr. Roberta Perlman, who celebrated the new musical instruments, which were donated to the District’s middle schools and high schools by Live Nation and Fairplex on July 30.

By Juliette Funes

Pomona – Nearly 100 band members from Pomona Unified’s high schools and middle schools were surprised with $45,000 in musical instruments – from oboes and saxophones to string basses and chrome chimes.  The students will be able to use their new instruments during their impressive performances, including their next big showcase at Pomona Day at the Los Angeles County Fair at Fairplex in September.

Thanks to a partnership between entertainment company, Live Nation, and Fairplex, more than 20 instruments were donated to band students at Diamond Ranch, Pomona, Garey and Ganesha high schools; and Fremont Academy, Lorbeer, Emerson and Simons middle schools, during a surprise ceremony on July 30 at Diamond Ranch High School.

“We are grateful to these two great partners for providing our students with this much-needed equipment, enabling us to bolster our music and arts programs and inspire students to pursue their creative talents,” said Board of Education President Andrew Wong. “We look forward to hearing the wonderful music they’ll be playing with these new instruments.”

The donation was made to underscore the importance of preserving music programs in public schools, according to Dale Coleman, a Pomona High School alum and Vice President of Business Growth and Development at Fairplex, who coordinated the donation.

Donated instruments include violins, bell stands, standard basses, clarinets and trombones.

“Music is a passion of these students and it such an important fabric of society and our culture,” said PUSD Superintendent Richard Martinez. “We are honored to be the recipients of this generous donation of instruments, many of which are unique and expensive, but essential for our band programs to continue growing and thriving.”

Photo Courtesy: PUSD
Diamond Point Elementary 3rd Grader, Jacob Oliva, presents his Camp Imagination project: a functional, three-dimensional model of the game Minecraft made out of recycled materials.

By Juliette Funes

Pomona – 3^rd Grader Walter Adling’s cardboard robot stands over two feet tall, with a long, long neck, a see-through brain and a transparent stomach filled with a rainbow of popsicle sticks and yarn.

“Its insides are made of infinite cherries,” Walter said.

Walter’s robot is one of dozens of toys created by students this summer at Pomona Unified School District’s first-ever Camp Imagination, a unique program in which 100 incoming 3^rd Graders from Diamond Point, Roosevelt and Washington elementary schools were challenged to let their imaginations reshape recycled materials.

“Students used their own creative instincts to find solutions to real-world problems, and though they were guided along the way, they were engaged in college-level work that involved research, innovation and collaboration to make their projects come to fruition,” Board President Andrew Wong said.  “I’m proud of all of our students, teachers and staff members who helped make this inventive pilot program a success.”

The literacy intervention program, which ran from June 15 to July 2, helped struggling readers to become engaged learners by promoting creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving.

It was inspired by the short film, “Caine’s Arcade,” which tells the story of a 9-year old East Los Angeles boy who, over his summer vacation, built an elaborate arcade out of cardboard and recycled materials in his father’s used auto parts store.

At Pomona Unified, students worked in small groups to strengthen their literacy skills, using such programs as Accelerated Reader, exploring scientific concepts and incorporating iPad technology for some of the projects, which ranged from three-dimensional Minecraft to life-sized playhouses.

“Programs that incorporate STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and make learning fun are critical to ensuring students are inspired to pursue these concepts as they move forward in their academic careers,” said Diamond Point teacher, Jorge Sanchez, who helped develop the curriculum along with the schools’ principals and teachers.

As part of the project, students also wrote business plans, created their own poems and songs, and made iMovies documenting their experiences.

“A lot of students were having so much fun that they didn’t realize they were learning reading, writing, collaborating, thinking critically and journaling,” said Janice Lim, a board member of the Pomona Unified Partners in Learning (PUPIL) Foundation, which helped fund the program and provided Camp Imagination T-shirts to students.

The support of the foundation – which promotes state-of-the-art student learning opportunities in STEM – has played an important role in increasing programs like Camp Imagination at Pomona Unified.

“The camps encourage hands-on exploration and enable our students to develop critical thinking skills, resourcefulness, empathy, perseverance, teamwork and other 21^st-century skills” said Superintendent Richard Martinez. “We hope to continue to explore STEM design concepts and academic rigor through this project-based format, and I want to thank PUPIL for their support in our efforts.”

Nearly 100 percent of students who attend the program go on to pursue a college degree.

Photo Courtesy: La Verne Media Relations
More than 60 college-hopeful high school students, including 21 from the Pomona Unified School District, participated in the 10th Annual REACH Business Summer Camp, hosted June 8-28 by the University of La Verne.

By Juliette Funes

Pomona – 21 Pomona Unified School District students spent three weeks getting a glimpse of college life during the University of La Verne’s annual REACH Summer Business Camp, where they experienced a stimulating and enriching academic environment as they explored the world of business.

As a way to help students “Reach” their potential, the camp – which is celebrating its 10^th anniversary – provides high school juniors from underserved communities with an introduction to the business field. Nearly 100 percent of students who attend the program go on to pursue a college degree.

“Working with the REACH program is just one of the ways Pomona Unified encourages students to pursue higher education,” Board President Andrew Wong said. “They learn that attending a university or college is attainable and feasible for them, and by getting an idea of what the academic standards are like, they are able to better prepare themselves for college.”

The University of La Verne’s College of Business and Public Management hosted the annual camp
June 8-28 for more than 60 college-hopeful students who took classes in accounting and finance, business ethics, economics, management and organization, marketing and website development.

Students also received valuable insight from local business owners who explained the key role leadership plays in entrepreneurship. They were also challenged to come up with their own ideas for a business and complete a thorough business plan.

“It was an amazing opportunity and unforgettable time for all of the students who gained confidence knowing that they can attend college,” said Monique Cardenas, a business teacher at Garey and Village Academy high schools, who assisted La Verne professors with lesson plans and helped students with their research projects.

“Students gained a unique understanding of the role of business in the economy and the importance of obtaining a post-secondary education,” Cardenas said. “It was exciting to see the sparkle in their eyes.”

The camp is held at no cost to students, who live in campus dorms, eat in dining halls and sit in on classroom lectures for the duration of the program. Those who complete the camp earn five elective credits through the Pomona Unified Regional Occupation Program and one unit from the University of La Verne.

“Our students have taken a significant step toward their college degrees and now have a better understanding of the business field thanks to the REACH Summer Business Camp,” Superintendent Richard Martinez said. “I want to thank the University of La Verne and our other community partners for encouraging our students to explore their career aspirations and giving them the hands-on opportunity to do so.”

By Juliette Funes

Pomona – Pomona Unified School District plans to expand dual-language immersion programs and full-day kindergarten programs, and boost spending for secondary athletics, online Advanced Placement courses and technology support as part of its 2015-18 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP).

The plan – a requirement of the state’s school funding system – guides District efforts in improving student learning, with particular emphasis on foster youth, English learners and students who are socio-economically disadvantaged. It identifies goals for each year, strategies to achieve those goals and funding sources.

“During the course of our outreach efforts, we have found that the priorities of our parents, community members and stakeholders include rigorous academics and programs to ensure all students – including our foster youth, English learners and socio-economically disadvantaged – are college- and career-ready by the time they graduate high school,” said Board President Andrew Wong. “This plan builds on our District’s successful programs and creates new avenues for student support.”

The 2015-18 plan pledges to continue programs that have shown success in improving graduation rates and reducing absenteeism, dropout and expulsion rates, including professional development, the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) college preparation program, reducing student-teacher ratios in elementary and middle school math and English Language Development sections, improving access to technology and broadening the course of study.

The District will expand its dual-language immersion offerings to include an English-Spanish program at Montvue Elementary School and an English-Mandarin program at Pantera Elementary School. Full-day kindergarten will be added at 11 additional schools. All elementary schools will now have the program.

The District will also bring new programs forward, including a literacy focus program and extra support for arts and music programs. Schools will add learning support by way of more nurses, counselors, school site specialists and math coaches for elementary and high schools. Funding for technology devices and additional computer technicians will also be increased to boost student and adult learning.

Pomona Unified developed the LCAP after analyzing a District survey that drew more than 3,000 stakeholder comments, reviewing data on student performance and consulting parent, faculty, staff and student groups, including the Associated Pomona Teachers Union and California School Employees Association during more than 20 meetings between January and June.

Stakeholders asked for continued safe and clean schools, increased staff and a broader range of coursework, technology and health services. Top bright spots included PUSD staff; the rigorous academic courses offered; the academic and social/emotional support provided to students; parent involvement; and Adult/Career Education.

Other avenues the District expects to explore in the future include more science labs, school modernization projects and disaster preparedness.

“This year, the District has had a number of amazing successes, and we believe that with these expanded programs and new actions, our students will continue to excel in reaching their college and career goals,” Superintendent Richard Martinez said. “I want to thank our students and families, our teachers and staff and our community partners for generously contributing their thoughts and time to help us create a plan that truly reflects local control and accountability in education.”