Arcadia Unified School District hires four new principals. They are Tom Bruce (First Avenue Middle School), Teresa Oakdale (Holly Avenue Elementary School), Ben Acker (Foothills Middle School), and Lauren Leahy (Hugo Reid Elementary School). The new hires come soon after David Vannasdall became the district superintendent in May.
In the election for Arcadia Unified School District board members, it seems incumbents Joann Steinmeier and Janet Chew are ahead. Steinmeier is seeking to extend her five terms on the school board.
Arcadia High School's awesome government class travels to "We the People" finals. Megan Leahy is the teacher of the Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. Government class going to the national competition in Washington DC.
Arcadia Unified School District (AUSD) introduced the new $7.5 million Facilities and Maintenance Yard Tuesday, which is the culminating project of the $218 million Measure I bond that spanned more than ten years. This school bond measure was voted on and passed by the Arcadia community in 2006. Jim Leahy, retired Executive Director of Facilities was honored for his contribution.
The Arcadia School Board after a two-hour closed session decided that Foothills Middle School music teacher Sandra Ragusa - who resigned but then quickly changed her mind - could not have her job back.
Arcadia High School Constitution Team wins state finals. The team will head to Washington DC for the National Finals in April. The team is comprised of 30 students, teacher and leader Megan Leahy, and several volunteer coaches, including Kevin Fox, Miriam Lopez, Mark Hong, Carl Nielsen, Bob Garrett, and City Councilman Gary Kovacic.
The Arcadia Board of Education will study the environmental impact of new uses and the addition of lights at Dana and First Avenue Middle schools and the Arcadia High School softball field.
Arcadia City Council has approved funding for outdoor lights at Dana and First Avenue middle schools, but opposed lighting a soccer field at Foothills Middle School.
A newly discovered geologic fault has quashed plans for a new gymnasium at Foothills Middle School that would have been shared with the City. The City and school district will now focus on building a gym at Dana Middle School.
Eighth grade students at Foothills Middle School participate in Frontier Days, a celebration of how pioneers lived in the old west. Student Nick Board is shown in a photo.
Arcadia gets top marks in county API scores. Arcadia Unified School District has three of the top four highest scoring middle schools on the Academic Performance Index. Foothills Middle School ranked first, tied with Huntington Middle School in San Marino. First Avenue Middle School and Dana Middle School also ranked in the top four in Los Angeles County.
Arcadia Unified School District revives middle school athletics. In 1995, the middle school sports program was dismantled when the district transitioned junior high to the middle school model (6th-8th grades), then the focus veered heavily toward academics. On December 3, 2015, First Avenue Middle School faced off with Dana Middle School for the first time in two decades.
Foothills Middle School and Camino Grove Elementary welcome new principals Patricia Hartline and Brook Jarvis Reynolds, respectively. The article includes biographical information on each.