Arcadia High School Principal Martin Plourde's attempts at racial sensitivity over the school's use of an Apache mascot have not only left the mascot question unsettled, they have also incensed Los Angeles' Native American community.
Arcadia Unified School District to reconsider Apaches as mascot amid online petition drive, officials say it is on agenda. It is a revival of a 20-year-old controversy to remove Apaches name and imagery amid a nationwide movement to erase offensive emblems. Shayan Farooq, a 2013 graduate of Arcadia High School, felt the issue needed to be addressed. Farooq started a petition at Change.org. AUSD spokesperson Ryan Foran said the issue will be addressed in its list of priorities after reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic and recent sexual assault allegations involving current and former students who were video recorded, without consent, having sex. Controversy surrounding the Apaches mascot dates back two decades when Native American activists protested the Apache Joe mascot at Arcadia school board meetings in 1999. Then Principal Martin Plourde sought the White Mountain Apache Tribe's blessing to use the imagery and tribal leaders approved, but many students at Alchesay High School (Arcadia High School's sister school on Apache reservation) found the mascot offensive and urged Plourde to change it. 2018 Arcadia High School graduate Yumei Lin is leading a Facebook group to change the emblem.
Arcadia Unified School District (AUSD) operates a cable television channel to communicate with parents and the community. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, within Arcadia's city boundaries on Adelphia's channel 96 (with cable-ready television) or channel 58 (with converter box). "School Matters" is a talk show produced by AUSD.
Molly Oglesby, of Arcadia High School, and William Ritter, of Rio Hondo Leadership Academy (RHLA), will receive the Arcadia Teachers Association's Eicherly Scholarships of $1000 each.
Creative Academy of Learning, an Arcadia day care center, almost went out of business last year and now owes the Arcadia Unified School District 4 month back rent.
A request from a group of parents that the play "Secrets", dealing with AIDS and birth control, be cancelled at Foothills Junior High has been unanimously denied by the Arcadia Board of Education. Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente and performed throughout the state, the play was requested by parents at the junior high level after it was shown last year at Arcadia High School.
The robotics program in Arcadia schools was the main topic of the state of the district presentation to the Arcadia Rotary Club last week. Superintendent Mimi Hennessy discusses the financial state of the school district.
The family of David Taylor, an Arcadia High School student who was killed in a bicycle accident last year, has presented a claim of $500,000 to the Arcadia School District. The claim was denied by the school board and turned over to the district's insurance company.
Arcadia Unified School District school board refuses to reinstate James O'Brien as the cross country coach. The school board expressed appreciation for all the individuals who shared their perspectives on the Arcadia High School cross country program at the Board of Education meetings. Mr. O'Brien continues to be employed as a teacher at Arcadia High School. Coaching assignments are made on a year-to-year basis.
17 students at Arcadia Alternative High School signed up as owner/operators of Medi-Kit Company, part of a 13-week Junior Achievement program sponsored by the Arcadia Rotary Club. The Medi-Kit auto safety first-aid kits sell for $8.