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More than 93 percent of the 3,105 seniors from the Whittier Union’s five comprehensive high schools graduated last year with only 3.1 percent and fewer dropping out, according to data recently released by the California Department of Education (CDE) for the 2011-12 academic year. Click on the title above to read the full story.
The Whittier Union Board of Trustees has appointed longtime La Serna teacher and administrator Ann Fitzgerald to be Principal of La Serna High School. The Board approved Fitzgerald’s appointment during its recent meeting where La Serna students, staff and parents filled the room and applauded in support of their new principal. Click on the title above to read the full story.
The Board of Trustees recently honored students from Whittier, Frontier, Pioneer and La Serna high schools for their exceptional academic achievements. Every year, the Board recognizes students from each district high school for their academic success. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Santa Fe High School recently honored its “Top 100” students in academic achievement at a special dinner event held in the Mike Mendez Gymnasium. Held annually, the “Top 100” consists of the 25 highest ranking students in academic achievement in the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes. This year, 160 students were honored, with 68 students coming from the freshman class – double the number of freshman from the previous year. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Registration is now open for the new Team Science Summer Camp to be held at Pioneer High School in July for students in grades K through 12. These fun, dynamic, hands-on classes will cover a vast array of age-appropriate math and sciences. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Whittier High Cardinals are extremely proud of their school’s academic accomplishments and the caring and affirming school community that teachers, counselors, administrators and students have worked hard to create. Their efforts are showing positive results in a number of ways. Click on the title above to read the full story.
California High School math teachers Justina Straub and Monica Diaz recently received their National Board Certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Associated Student Body members from each of Whittier Union’s high schools bonded over tacos, challenging games and gifts during the annual ASB Night held in the Sierra Gymnasium. The evening was an opportunity for the student leaders to get to know one another better, share ideas, build District unity, and just have fun. Click on the title above to see the photo gallery.
The vocal ensembles from Whittier Union High School District’s five comprehensive high schools filled Whittier College’s Memorial Chapel with music during the District’s annual Choral Festival. Click on the title above to read the full story.
A new Physical Education classroom building on the upper athletic field level at La Serna High School has been completed. Click on the title above to read about all WUHSD modernization projects.
For the first time in the school’s history, California High School’s Cross Country team advanced to state and national competitions, earning special recognition from the Board of Trustees. Click on the title above to read the full story.
La Serna High School has earned a Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association for its innovative mentoring programs that have spurred an increase in student achievement. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Superintendent Sandra Thorstenson recently was honored as one of this year’s Boy Scouts of America “Good Scouts” for the cities of Whittier and Santa Fe Springs. Click on the title above to read the full story.
New hands-on K-12 science programs will soon be launched at Pioneer High School as part of a community-wide effort to provide local students with the skills they need to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Click on the title above to read the full story.
The Whittier Union High School District has received two prestigious awards from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its District-wide energy conservation program to conserve electricity, natural gas and water. Click on the title above to read the full story.
A new shade structure for the main quad has been installed at Cal High. All five high schools now have shade structures for open areas where students meet. Click on the title above for the full story.
Wendy Brandt is a teacher’s teacher. Described by her colleagues as a gifted and humble leader who has supported teachers for more than 20 years in her various roles as a mentor teacher, consulting teacher and New Teacher Program Specialist, Brandt has been selected Whittier Union's Teacher of the Year for 2012-13. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Whittier Union students continue to steadily improve their academic performance, with a larger proportion scoring proficient or higher on the 2012 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program exams in English–language arts and mathematics, according to data from the California Department of Education (CDE). When looking at 2012 CST results for grades 9-11, WUHSD students’ performance continues to surpass that of high school students in most neighboring public high schools, data show. Click on the title above to read the full story.
A group of 13 La Serna High School students recently had a unique opportunity to work alongside academic research scientists at Coastal Marine Biolabs in Ventura Harbor. Click on the title above to read the full story.
In an outpouring of support, community members and organizations are stepping forward with donations to help Whittier High School and the district raise funds to replace four tubas that were stolen from the school in June. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Members of Pioneer High School’s brand new Early College Academy began their two-year program this summer by taking the college course “Counseling 101: College and Life Success with Victoria Cuevas, Director of Pioneer’s Expanded Horizons Department, and Jennette Noriega, a college counselor with Rio Hondo College. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Santa Fe High School art students and teachers plan to take full advantage of their newly remodeled art classrooms and the recently completed art alley featuring a special building housing two kilns. Click on the title above to read the full story.
In an effort to ease the transition not only for incoming ninth graders but also for their parents, California High School held several special orientation meetings this summer as a part of their Parent Partnership/Ninth Grade Orientation Program. Click on the title above to read the full story.
More than 93 percent of the 13,000 students from the District’s five comprehensive high schools are graduating and 0.7 percent or fewer are dropping out, according to data released by the California Department of Education (CDE) for the 2010-11 academic year. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Close to 3,000 graduates from Whittier Union schools celebrated commencement this June in ceremonies that focused on the positive aspects of achievement and the importance of working hard to attain future goals in college and careers. Click on the title above to read the full story and view the photo gallery.
California, La Serna and Santa Fe high schools all ranked a 10 among comprehensive high schools with similar demographics, earning the schools the distinction of being three out of only six comprehensive high schools in Los Angeles County to rank a 10 this year, not including magnet and charter high schools. Whittier and Pioneer high schools both ranked an 8 among similar schools. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Whittier Union is partnering with Whittier College on a four-year, $800,000 grant to the college from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to promote innovative strategies for improving science and math education in grades K-12. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Santa Fe, Pioneer and Whittier AVID seniors were honored at the annual AVID Senior Recognition Celebration. The event honored 88 students who successfully completed the college preparatory program. Click on the title above to read the full story.
The Whittier Union Board of Trustees recently honored the certificated and classified employees who retired this year, such as Director of Alternative Education Mickie Yuchno, left, thanking each of them for their many years of dedicated service for the benefit of the District’s students. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Amy Orozco, Pioneer High School’s class Valedictorian, and Lucero Vasquez, Pioneer’s Salutatorian, recently received special honors from Whittier Union’s Board of Trustees for their academic achievements. Click on the title above to read the full story.
As Richard Bardales prepares to enter UCLA in the fall, he says the education he received as a member of Cal High’s Business Academy has prepared him well for the challenges ahead. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Conjuring up the Elizabethan period, La Serna students performed Shakespeare’s masterpiece “Macbeth” under the stars and held a Shakespearean Renaissance Fair. Click on the title above to read the full story and view the photo gallery.
The Accrediting Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges has informed the district that California and Frontier high schools as well as the Whittier Adult School have each earned six years of accreditation with a midterm visit. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Whittier High School’s historic “horseshoe” quad remodel is complete and now features new grass, seat walls, and pavers, creating a green oasis in the center of campus. Click on the title above to read about all of the current district modernization projects.
The Accrediting Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges has informed the district that California and Frontier high schools as well as the Whittier Adult School have each earned six years of accreditation with a midterm visit. Click on the title above to read the full story.
The Whittier High School Alumni Association Educational Foundation selected 12 students for its 2012 Alumni Scholarship Awards. The scholarship winners were honored at the Alumni Association’s 13th annual Hall of Fame dinner. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Plans have been approved to build new and innovative multi-purpose athletic stadiums at both Pioneer and California High Schools that will serve a wide variety of sports. Each school’s adjoining playing fields also will be renovated as part of the modernization project. Click on the title above to read the full story.
The Santa Fe High School Visual and Performing Arts Department recently hosted its annual Art and Fashion Show, placing the spotlight on students’ creative talents in art that ranged from traditional media to fashion and performance. Click on the title above for the full story.
La Serna's Ken La Vigne is one of five California teachers chosen for the honor in recognition of his work with OASIS students. Click on the title above for the full story.
A new California school immunization law requires all students entering 7th through 12th grades in the 2011-2012 school year to be immunized with a pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine booster called Tdap...click the story title for full details on how to get vaccinated for free!
District students’ state test scores continued to rise in 2010-11, sending the District’s overall Academic Performance Index (API) up 11 points to 777, according to the California Department of Education. Click on the title above to read the full story.
Schools will no longer be allowed to charge student fees for extracurricular programs and specialized classes, increasing the need to raise funds and donations for these programs. Click the title above to read the full story.
More students are not only completing the classes necessary for college admission, but are also taking more Advanced Placement courses that can qualify students for college credit, recent data show.
As the new Assistant Principal of Guidance at Santa Fe High School, Craig Campbell will be one of the familiar faces in a new administrative position this school year. Click here to read the full story.
There is a wolf at the door of public education today, and we educators have to make sure that our house is built out of bricks and not straw or sticks. It is all too common and acceptable to malign the effectiveness of our schools and teachers, using standardized test scores and international rankings as fuel for an ever-growing fire of discontent. Educators in public schools are seen as "them", an entity viewed by many as the source of the problem and not as the solution...for full story click on title
As school begins, students entering Whittier Union campuses after the summer break will see improvements made and construction underway as part of the District’s continuing modernization program. Click the title above to read the full story.
Nearly 250 Whittier Union seniors earned the Seal of Biliteracy medal in the first year of the program’s implementation. The Seal of Biliteracy is a statewide program that honors students who have attained proficiency in English and one or more other languages by high school graduation. Click on the title above to read the full story.
More Whittier Union High School District seniors are meeting the CAHSEE requirement for graduation and more sophomores are passing the state test the first time they take it. Click on the title above to read the full story.
WUHSD's five comprehensive high schools continue to rank in the top third among the state’s high schools with similar demographics, according to the California State Department of Education (CDE). California and La Serna High schools both ranked a 10 among similar schools. Santa Fe and Whittier High School both ranked a 9 and Pioneer High School ranked an 8 among similar schools. Click on the title above for the full story.
Every year, one stellar student from each Whittier Union high school is chosen to receive special recognition from the Board of Trustees for their achievements. Click the title above to read about the students recently selected for this honor.
Noted education author and researcher Raymond J. McNulty recently visited the Whittier Union High School District for two days to learn more about how the district has attained increasingly higher levels of student achievement on all of its campuses through its ''Whatever It Takes'' initiative.
