Arcadia police are searching for a man in his 50s wanted in the attempted kidnapping of a 5-year-old school girl on a field trip to the Westfield Shoppingtown Santa Anita. He was described as Asian, with gray hair and a bald spot on top of his head. He was 5'8" tall, 170 pounds, with yellow teeth, blue pants, and white sneakers.
The California State Department of Education has released test scores and rankings. Every spring the state gives each public school two rankings from 1 to 10. A "statewide" rank compares each school in the state and the "similar schools" rank compares schools with similar demographics and populations. Oak Avenue Intermediate in Temple City Unified School District and Huntington Middle School and San Marino High School in San Marino Unified all got 10s in both categories. All schools in the Arcadia Unified School District earned a rank of 10 in the "statewide" category, but ranks varied in the "similar schools" category.
Eight school districts in the West San Gabriel Valley, including Arcadia Unified School District, showed year-to-year increases in Academic Performance Index (API) scores. The API measures student proficiency in English and math.
A middle-aged man tried to kidnap a 5-year-old school girl from the Westfield Shoppingtown Santa Anita mall on November 26. His composite sketch is shown and is described as an Asian male in his 50s, 5'8" with gray hair and a bald spot. Police are calling it an isolated incident but parents should be vigilant.
Arcadia, Alhambra, Monrovia, Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Gabriel, San Marino and Temple City public schools all showed improvement on California state API testing that measures English and math performance. Duarte Unified showed a drop from the previous year.