Thanks to Dixie Allen and Stuart Oskamp, the Claremont High School Theatre Renovation Committee is getting even closer to reaching its $1.5 million goal. Ms. Allen contributed $100,000 towards the project at Thursday's Claremont Unified School District Board of Education meeting in honor of former CHS Theatre director Don Fruechte. Committee member Bob Fass said the gift was the largest in CHS history.
The Claremont Unified School District Board of Education will have plenty to vote on during the first school board meeting on 2012 on Thursday. The appointment of a non-voting student board members, review of the 2010-11 annual financial report, school accountability report cards for 2010-11, revisions to the special education local plan and the public hearing of the CUSD negotiations with the Claremont Faculty Association are just a sample of the many items the board will address beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Richard S. Kirkendall Education Center.
Longtime Harvey Mudd College
history professor and William W.
Keith Jr. Fellow in Humanities
Richard Olson is currently embracing life
after retirement.
Mr. Olson officially retired last month after a 35-
year career at Harvey Mudd that included teaching
history of science courses, and serving in several
leadership roles. Mr. Olsonâ??s accomplishments include
serving as the chair of the Humanities, Social
Sciences and the Arts (HSA) department, authoring
more than 60 published works and working as an adjunct
professor at Claremont Graduate University.
The CUSD Board of Education has
scheduled a special board meeting
for January 30th that will include
interviews with the prospective search
firms and the board’s final decision on
which firm CUSD will work with over the
next several months.
The January 30 meeting had originally been scheduled
for February 2 but the board agreed to change the
date after being advised by Interim Superintendent Gloria
Johnston.
Claremont High School 2008 graduate
and current University of
Southern California student Kyle
Manis ended 2011 on a high note and
plans to move on to the next chapter of his
life in 2012.
The USC Marshall School of Business student was
a first place winner in the State Farm Insurance Sales
and Marketing national competition at the University
of Central Missouri 2 months ago.
From the Claremont Unified School
District board of education and the
superintendent to principals and
teachers, 2011 was marked with a high volume
of changes in personnel for the district.
The year began with the board approving the resignation
of former Superintendent Terry Nichols, who left
the district in late February to become the superintendent
of Duarte Unified School District.
The Claremont Educational Foundation’s
(CEF) support for Claremont
Unified School District schools has
reached new heights during the past 2 years.
The organization will aim even higher in
2012.
After raising nearly $30,000 during its annual kickoff
at the home of Ivan and Beth Misner last month,
CEF is gearing up for its March Radness and Toyota
Prius Raffle events in hopes of contributing $300,000 or
more to CUSD in the coming year.
Students with disabilities are just one
of several student groups the Claremont
Unified School District will
give extra focus to this year.
Director of Special Education Judy Geske and Coordinator
of Special Education Gina Ramallo presented
part of an updated Local Educational Agency (LEA)
plan at the December 15 meeting that revealed the current
progress of the Students With Disabilities subgroup
and steps the district will to take to increase student
achievement.
The Claremont Unified School District board unanimously elected Jeff Stark as its new board president during the board's annual organizational meeting Thursday.
Mr. Stark had served as board vice president throughout the 2011 governing board year and now succeeds former board president Beth Bingham, who chose not to run for board member re-election this year. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
The return of Claremont resident Sam Mowbray to the Claremont Unified School District board dais and the boardâ??s annual organizational meeting highlight tonightâ??s board meeting at the Richard S. Kirkendall Education Center.
The Claremont Museum of Art’s
new Project ARTstART program
gave more than 25 Claremont
High School students a chance to experience
Claremont art history at the Huntington Library
on November 30.
Entitled The House That Sam Built: Sam Maloof and
Art in the Pomona Valley 1945-1985, the latest exhibit at
the Huntington Library showcases the furniture works of
Mr. Maloof along with paintings of Karl Benjamin and Millard
Sheets, among others.
Vista del Valle Elementary School
Principal David Stewart and his
wife, Oakmont Outdoor School
Principal Stacey Stewart are 2 of the
newest principals in the Claremont Unified
School District. Yet the couple has
high aspirations for their respective
schools.
Both Mr. and Ms. Stewart want to see Oakmont and
Vista del Valle become more attractive to the community
as they foster the many interests of their students.
“It comes down to what do we want the community
to say and know about our school,” Mr. Stewart said. “We
want to be the destination school, a place where people
want their kids to go."
The upper floor of the
Raymond M. Alf Museum
of Paleontology
has recently undergone a $1.8
million renovation that modernizes
the space and continues
to preserve the legacy of its
founder.
Housing the museum's history, along
with exhibits on the earth's history, geologic
time divisions and student research,
the Alf Museum's Hall of Life
will now implement information and
exhibits involving the latest discoveries
for visitors.
Claremont Unified School District
Assistant Superintendent of Student
Services Mike Bateman and
Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources
Kevin Ward were both promoted
at Thursday’s board meeting.
Mr. Bateman was formerly the “executive director”
of students services and Mr. Ward was formerly the
“director” of human resources prior to receiving their
new titles after a unanimous vote by the CUSD board
last week.
