Math is a gate-keeper for kids. And for kids from poor neighborhoods, it can be the thing that locks them into a life of poverty.
In 2011, Claremont Graduate University, in partnership with Harvey Mudd College and the Long Beach Unified School District, launched an innovative and ambitious program which gathered up a group of promising 13 year olds from one of the toughest neighborhoods in Long Beach, and gave them intensive math training.
The next meeting of the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education is set for Wednesday, August 22 and will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Richard S. Kirkendall Education Center (170 W. San Jose Ave., Claremont).
A number of items of interest to the community are on the agenda, including approval of the placement of former Sumner Elementary School Principal Frank D’Emilio as a classroom teacher at Vista del Valle Elementary School.
On a return trip to his native country of Ghana in 2005, Claremont commissioner Opoku Acheampong found himself rendered speechless by the vast changes to the country he left behind 30 years ago. Most notable was the number of children, many handicapped, crowding the streets, begging for food and money. Many carried makeshift instruments in an attempt to elicit some spare change.
With that, Mr. Acheampong formed a plan.
Feminine. Edgy. Vivid. These are words that could be used to describe the clothes on offer this year as teen girls and college-bound women prepare to start school.
The summer heat has dampened shoppers’ spirits lately, according to Amy Ogilvie, owner of the clothing shop Maple Boutique, located in the Packing House in Claremont’s Village West area.
With school bells poised, though, business is picking up, particularly during traffic-heavy times like the Friday Nights Live music performances that bring throngs of visitors to the Village.
On Monday, September 3 there will be no school as the district observes Labor Day.
Another holiday of sorts will be celebrated on Thursday, September 20 during Claremont Day at the Fair. The event, which is organized by members of the Claremont Community Committee, will include performances by the CHS and El Roble bands, a small parade and a Claremont Community Hero awards ceremony.
The students and advisor of Claremont High School’s Wolfpacket newspaper are hosting a journalism workshop, set for this Friday, August 17 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Held at Claremont High School (1601 N. Indian Hill Blvd.), the event is open to all CUSD students entering grades 7 through 12 who are interested in journalism, and is aimed at giving youths a chance to learn about the makings of a newspaper.
Mystery meat. Ketchup counted as a vegetable. Foods that are processed, frozen and reconstituted until they are barely recognizable. When school lunches come to mind, the picture isn’t usually pretty.
Meals served in the Claremont Unified School District have changed significantly since Rick Cota was hired as director of Nutrition Services in 2009. When he came on board, virtually 100 percent of school food was processed. Now, 80 percent of CUSD meals are made from scratch. His goal is to offer 100 percent homemade fare.
There’s something about summer that spells the opposite of a schedule.
The days are impossibly long, and filled with an ever-changing roster of events. Bedtime varies, with kids often staying up into the night watching TV or hanging with friends.
All this serendipity will come to an end, though, when the bell rings for the first day of school. For Claremont students, that’s Wednesday, August 29.
After a leisurely summer, getting somewhere at 8 o’clock, looking pulled together and feeling ready to do school work, can be a rude awakening.
Between his work as registered principal and partner in an investment advisory firm and his role as president of the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education, you would think Jeff Stark doesn’t have much time for reading.
The Thursday, August 9 meeting of the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education adjourned in record time.
Only a handful of community members filed into the air conditioned board room at the gathering’s 6:30 p.m. start time. And with no public comments or presentations from student council members, they headed back out into the evening heat at 7:30 p.m.
Much on the agenda was routine.
The Claremont High School campus has been busier than usual this summer. Demolition continues on the CHS Theatre, and its renovation should be completed at the end of February. On July 23, Dana Toland, superintendent of PCM Construction, led a tour of the gutted structure for CHS Principal Brett O’Connor, Assistant Principal Steven Patterson and COURIER staff.
With much of the stage and several walls and staircases ripped out, the theater looked cavernous.
The Claremont Unified School District Board of Education will hold its next meeting on Thursday, August 9 at the Richard S. Kirkendall Education Center at 170 W. San Jose Ave. in Claremont.
Action items will include a vote to approve shared school site waivers for Danbury Elementary and Community Day schools, which are connected with Sumner Elementary and San Antonio High School, respectively.
This summer, Justin Uhl is getting a slice of what junior high will be like.
The young Claremonter, who will be a seventh grader at El Roble Intermediate School this fall, is enrolled in an Algebra Boot Camp held at El Roble through the Claremont Educational Foundation’s annual SLICE of Summer program.
What does Justin think of his new campus so far?
“It’s fun and big,” he said.
Claremont High School has an exemplary graduation rate, says Bonnie Bell, assistant superintendent of educational services for the local school district.
The number of CHS students graduating with a regular diploma, 99.9 percent, extends to those with disabilities, Ms. Bell notes.
The fact that virtually every student graduates is particularly impressive because, since 2005-2006, there has been an additional academic hurtle for those aiming for a diploma.
