Arcadia's Baldwin Stocker Elementary School and Pasadena's Roosevelt Elementary have been nominated for National Blue Ribbon honor. The program recognizes some of the highest performing and most improved schools in the nation.
Beacon Media News Fall 2017 Education and Enrichment Guide of San Gabriel Valley K-12 private schools and educational resources including Barnhart School and Elite of Arcadia.
Two Arcadia Unified School District schools earn California Distinguished School honors--Holly Avenue Elementary School and Longley Way Elementary School.
Federal legislation aimed at bringing more teachers back in the classroom is providing Pasadena-area school districts with more than $12.3 million, according to the California Department of Education's preliminary figures. Many district officials are wary of immediately using the money to hire teachers, saying they will likely have to lay off the teachers next year. The money comes from President Obama's $26 billion Jobs Bill for teachers and other government jobs. A chart shows preliminary allocations to San Gabriel Valley school districts. Arcadia Unified School District is scheduled to receive $1,667,871.
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 upgraded and improved four campuses over summer break, costing nearly $10 million. Funded under the district's $218 million Measure I Bond, the four schools that got updated classrooms and facilities are Arcadia High School, Camino Grove Elementary, Hugo Reid Elementary, and Highland Oaks Elementary schools.
Arcadia High School students and staff, Mr. Christopher Schultz (Track and Field coach), aid victims of Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm that struck the coast of South Texas.
Seven area schools designated as "California Distinguished," including Camino Grove Elementary, Highland Oaks Elementary, and Longley Way Elementary from Arcadia Unified School District. The others are from Azusa Unified, San Gabriel Unified and Pasadena Unified school districts.
How can you help the Arcadia Educational Foundation? The Arcadia Educational Foundation (AEF) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1981 in response to substantially reduced federal and state funding for California public schools, administered by parent and community member trustees, to raise funds for Arcadia Unified School District. AEF runs the annual summer school program, offers $25000 in teacher grants each year, funds district-wide phone and text communication system, and has also funded teacher positions due to state-wide budget cuts.
Arcadia Unified School District adopts "Common Core," so students in Arcadia will be studying subjects at the same time as students in 46 other states. Teacher Jennifer Prince said Common Core is meant to help students compete in a 21st century national and global economy. See hard copy in VF "Schools--History--2001-2020."
Resident David Fong and Arcadia Police Chief Robert Guthrie address recent Arcadia school lockdowns. Highland Oaks School had been put on lockdown while Arcadia police searched for suspects in a residential robbery. Arcadia Unified School District has only one school resource officer and Fong asked the city to seriously consider additional safety measures at Arcadia schools.
Arcadia's parcel tax, Measure A, is validated. It gives schools $17 million over the next 5 years. Residents, with a few exceptions (seniors and those who receive Social Security), will have to pay an additional $228/year to help offset the fiscal deficit the Arcadia Unified School District faces. This Measure A was on the March 13 ballot.
Due to lower enrollment, Immaculate Conception School (K-4th grades) in Monrovia and Annunciation School (5th-8th grades) in Arcadia will merge their resources and student bodies to stay open.
Arcadia Unified School District (AUSD) caught in the web of Net-Neutrality preservation. On December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to repeal net neutrality laws. AUSD is transitioning into technology-based platforms of learning with a focus on personalized learning using Chromebooks. Students using different ISPs at home may have varied access to educational means. It is unlikely to affect their access to educational resources while they are at school.