Tag Archives: Riverside Unified School District

Eastside Garden Gives Riverside Students Hands-On Learning Experience

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The Eastside Community Garden at Emerson Elementary School is a shining example of Riverside’s unified spirit working together for the common good of the city as a whole.

On February 23, the Press-Enterprise published a story written by correspondent Kevin Keckeisen about the collaborative effort between Riverside Parks and Recreation Department and Riverside Unified School District. The garden is part of the school district’s Farmers Market Salad Bar program.  The following is an excerpt from the story:

First-grader Kalia Cook, 6, inspects lettuce plants with the rest of her class at the Eastside Community Garden at Emerson Elementary School in Riverside. (photo by Kevin Keickerson; source: PE.com)

First-grader Kalia Cook, 6, inspects lettuce plants with the rest of her class at the Eastside Community Garden at Emerson Elementary School in Riverside. (photo by Kevin Keckeison; source: PE.com)

Nearly two dozen different crops such as squash, tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce and onions are grown. The produce provides students nutrition at the school salad bar, and some is sent to RUSD Nutrition Services to be centrally prepared and distributed to other schools in the city.

“Kids don’t have the foggiest idea where this stuff comes from. It comes from the grocery store as far as they’re concerned,” said Tony Inaba, caretaker of the garden and Riverside parks commissioner.

Students do most of the planning and weeding, and they observe. They work on the garden once every other week, and so do students with disabilities from North High School. It’s a learning process and part of their curriculum, Inaba said.

The community also has access to the garden.  According to the Eastside Community Garden Facebook page, this is the city’s oldest community garden and has been in existence since approximately 1980. In 2004, Emerson Elementary and the City of Riverside Parks and Recreation Services Department joined forces.  Since then, the operation has won national attention for it’s ‘garden to salad bar’ participation by the Emerson Elementary students five years in a row.

Click here to read the full story as published in the Press-Enterprise.

For more information on the garden, visit the group’s Facebook page.

Ramona High School’s AVID Program Celebrates 25 Years of Preparing Students for College

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Following the recent 25th Anniversary Celebration of Riverside’s AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program, AVID founder, Mary Catherine Swanson published a blog that personalized and memorialized the determination, success and impact of the Riverside AVID program – a true example of Riverside being a place for lifelong learning for all and its commitment to intelligent growth.  Below is an excerpt from her article:

AVID founder Mary Catherine Swanson
(source: avidcollegeready.org)

“Riverside began AVID at Ramona High School in 1988 – one teacher, one class section.  That year the school graduated 325 students and schoolwide three percent went to college.  The school was 68 percent white; nine percent of the students qualified for aid to families with dependent children and five percent were English learners.  Ramona offered one Advanced Placement class. Beginning in 1988, each year Ramona added a class section of AVID and additional teachers.  They devoted a counselor to the program, and the district supported the costs of tutors and professional development.

Ramona High School AVID graduates that attended the school’s 25-year program anniversary event included, from left: Claudia Pacheco, Frank Lopez, and Michelle (Velasquez) Foley. They are with Sally Griffin, former Ramona AVID coordinator, second from right. (source: PE.com/contributed content)

Fast forward to 2012.  Ramona High School is composed of 84 percent underrepresented minorities and 79 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunches.  Fifty-three percent of the students are English learners.  Twenty-six percent of the student body is enrolled in AVID (more than 500 students), and the schoolwide college going rate is 28 percent.  There are 17 Advanced Placement classes whose enrollment is 85 percent AVID students.  Ninety-eight percent of the AVID students receive acceptances to four year colleges, and 99 percent enroll in college.  Ramona regularly sends AVID students to MIT.  More than 1,700 students have graduated from Ramona’s AVID program.  Ramona has more Dell and Gates scholars than any school in the nation.

In 2005 Newsweek Magazine named Ramona High School as one of the 800 best high schools in the nation and the AVID Center in 2010 named Ramona one of the five top superstar AVID schools in the nation.  Ramona has been an AVID Demonstration School for 19 consecutive years.

Over 25 years, Ramona High School has become filled with students who society and our school systems expect not to succeed, but each year Ramona has gotten stronger and stronger.  They have done it through the dedication of the school board, administration, teachers, and students – the school where everyone said it couldn’t be done.”

To read the full article as written by Swanson, including individual student success stories, click here.
To read the article recapping highlights of the event as published by the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Click here  for more information on the national AVID program.

RUSD Schools Nutrition Official Named to State Panel

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Rodney Taylor, director of nutrition services for Riverside Unified School District since 2002, will serve on the California State Board of Food and Agriculture.

Gov. Jerry Brown announced the appointment in December.

RodneyTaylor“My appointment to the State Board of Food and Agriculture is an outgrowth of the work we are doing in the district to provide students with locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables as an innovative way to modify children’s eating behaviors,” explained Taylor. “These activities support Riverside’s vision for being a catalyst for innovation, where we cultivate and support useful and beneficial ideas that lead to more inventive and multi-disciplinary approaches to address local, state and global issues.”

Taylor was director of food and nutrition services at Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District from 1992 to 2002 and management consultant for food services at Marriott Corporation from 1989 to 1992.

He is currently an executive committee member of the Network for a Healthy California, a member of the University of California, President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources, and serves on the Champions Council for Seizing Our Destiny.

For more information on RUSD’s school nutrition programs, visit their website here.

YWCA 2012 Women of Achievement Awards Honor Champions for Riverside

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(as published by the Press-Enterprise on October 4, 2012, written by Marilyn Jacobsen)

More than 300 attended the Sept. 21 luncheon for the YWCA 28th Annual Women of Achievement, held at The Grove.

The YWCA recognizes women who are role models in civic, economic and cultural life of their communities, advancing the YWCA goals of empowering women and advancing social justice. The women honored this year are:

Winning honors as the 2012 YWCA Women of Achievement are, from left: Robin Kilcoyne, Joan Roberts, Rachel Rola, Raquel Marquez-Britsch, Sue Rainey, Cathy Kienle and Samantha Wilson. (photo contributed to PE)

Cathy Kienle, foundation director of Walter’s Automotive group. She is an active volunteer herself in efforts benefiting women’s and children’s health and education.

Robin Kilcoyne, founder and executive director of Queen of Hearts. The therapeutic riding center. The center offers an effective, unusual and fun kind of therapy, via horses, for children with disabilities.

Raquel Marquez-Britsch, the first Latina judge appointed to the County of Riverside Superior Court. She was in the Riverside County District Attorney’s office for 19 years. She has particular interest in youth, encouraging them in leadership development. She has coached 16 mock trial teams.

Susan Rainey, retired superintendent of Riverside Unified School District. In 1980 she was one of only six female high school principals in the entire state of California. She continues to be involved in education and youth, and has been elected to the board of Riverside County Office of Education.

Joan Roberts, director of Visiting Angels of Riverside County, a homecare company in Jurupa Valley. She wants older adults to be able to remain living in the comfort of their homes, and to receive excellent care.

Rachel Rola, co-owner of As You Like It, a catering and event design company in Corona. Active in the community, she is president of Inland Empire Asian Business Association, past chair of the board for Greater Corona Valley Chamber of Commerce, a leader in Rotary and other organizations.

A new category, “Emerging Leader Award”, was inaugurated this year, for a person who is 35 years and younger and very community-minded. Samantha Wilson received the first award. She founded the Child Leader Project, Riverside, after the experience of studying in India when she attended UC Riverside.  Samantha is also a member of the Seizing Our Destiny Champions Council and played a key role in helping to reshape the campaign to better serve the community’s vision.

The efforts of these active, passionate and dedicated women are prime examples of how individuals are helping to improve the quality of life in the area (and the world) every day.  The acknowledgement of their efforts is a celebration for Riverside.

Click here to read the original article as published in the PE.

Four RUSD High Schools Receive Upgrades to Athletic Facilities

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Construction of the new pool at Romona High School.
Source: Ramona Aquatics

Includes excerpts from the August 11, 2012 article from the Press Enterprise by Dayna Straehley.

Four Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) high schools – Poly, North, Ramona and Arlington – have begun major improvements to their athletic facilities this summer. The upgrades are greatly needed as there have been no renovations made since the schools were originally built, which was in the late 1950s for Ramona High, in the mid-’60s for North and Poly, and in the early ’70s for Arlington.

The high schools are receiving more than $44 million in upgrades, paid mostly with Measure B bond money that Riverside voters approved in 2001 for school construction projects, which cannot be used for salaries or other operating costs. Additional funding to augment the cost of the projects is coming from redevelopment money and community development block grants from the City of Riverside and some other sources.

All of the schools are getting artificial turf football fields where freshman and junior varsity teams can compete. Teams, marching bands and other student groups can practice on the artificial turf all day, all year, without tearing it up like natural grass, said Assistant Superintendent Kirk Lewis.

Poly High School

Poly High is getting the biggest pool, 50 meters, with solar heat from the roof of a shade structure, with a wave design, over the planned bleachers.

“The solar is a good deal,” said Kevin Hauser, Assistant Director of facilities projects for Riverside Unified School District. “It pays for itself very quickly.”

The $13.6 million project also includes locker rooms, restrooms and a snack bar next to the pool. A new softball dugout and team room will be built next to the new softball field. A football practice field with artificial turf and a rubberized track is being graded.

Construction at Poly started in April 2012 and is scheduled for completion in May 2013.

North High School

North High School broke ground on the improvements July 25. Construction workers quickly demolished the old pool, track, restrooms, bleachers, basketball courts and football field.

The $13.6 million project includes a new football stadium with a nine-lane rubberized all-weather track and press box. The old pool will be replaced with a new 25-yard by 30-meter pool. The school has six new tennis courts and two more will be built, finished with a playing surface in U.S. Open Blue, Hauser said.

The facilities are to be completed by next July 2013.

Ramona High School

The new 25-yard by 30-meter pool at Ramona High will be ready in mid-October, Hauser said. That pool also will have solar heat installed on top of the shade structure over future bleachers. Like the other pools, Ramona’s pool deck will be wide enough for parents to set up portable shade canopies while they watch their sons’ or daughters’ swim meets or water polo matches.

Eight new tennis courts are also being built at Ramona. The $5 million project began in March 2012 and is to be completed in November 2012.

The district stadium at Ramona High was done in 2010, as were rebuilt fields for baseball, softball and physical education.

Arlington High School

Lush green new grass is growing in the summer heat on new baseball, softball and junior varsity and physical education fields at Arlington High.

“This used to be a wasteland out there, a nasty dirt lot,” Hauser said, referring to a 7-acre neglected agricultural department area with a lean-to shed. The agriculture department ended in 2003.

The $12 million, 13-month project also includes dugouts, a concession stand, ticket booth, restrooms and walkways. All the athletic fields were redesigned to take advantage of the additional space, with storm-water retention areas in unused corners, Hauser said.

Separate deluxe batting cages for baseball and softball will be installed soon, Lewis said.

Work began last January 2011 and is to be finished in February 2013.

In a news release from RUSD, Board of Education President Gayle Cloud said she hopes the new facilities will encourage even more world-class athleticism. “If our old facilities produced Olympic champions, think about the future possibilities,” Cloud said.

Riverside is a location of choice for high quality education and the improvements to RUSD’s athletics facilities will help Riverside’s schools continue to be leaders in developing world-class athletes who excel both on the field and in the classroom. 

Read the full article from the Press Enterprise.

Madison Elementary Students Receive Their New Learning Tools

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Madison Elementary School students in the grant-funded “Listos” program show-off their new iPods, which will be used as learning tools at school and at home. (Source: Riverside Unified School District)

Madison Elementary School opened its doors to 60 students in September, 1952, with four classrooms, three primary teachers and a teaching Principal. In September, 1953, three more classrooms were added and Madison School included double sessions to accommodate Riverside’s rapidly increasing population. By 1956, six more classrooms were added and the enrollment soared to 580 students. Today, enrollment numbers have grown to 860. Madison currently has a full-time principal and Teacher on Special Assignment working closely with the parents, staff and students to maintain a safe, learning-centered environment.

For first through sixth grade Academic English Learners at Madison Elementary, the grant funded “Listos” program, which is intended to help students get “ready” for school made it possible for Madison students to commence their school year in the first week of August – long before their peers will be coming back to school.

The students received a visit on Monday July 30, 2012 from Riverside City Councilman Rusty Bailey and Chief Information Officer and Executive Director of SmartRiverside Steve Reneker, who helped to hand out iPod Touch devices to students. Bailey and Reneker told youngsters about Riverside’s recent World Intelligent Community of the Year award and how Riverside schools played a big part in helping the city to gain that honor. Riverside’s Digital Revolution – which includes the all-digital high school and digital dashboard at Ramona – was named the World’s Coolest App.

Reneker said students were lucky to be part of the cutting edge of learning technology, adding that when he was a student at Ramona High School, “we didn’t even have computers. We had typewriters and white-out. You probably don’t even know what that is.”

Puzzled looks gave way to happy grins as students started lining up to receive their iPods. The iPods will be learning tools that will help students throughout the year – both when they are at school and at home. Other Madison students also will receive the devices in the fall as part of a one-to-one deployment of instructional technology on the campus made possible through a grant and Title 1 funds.

“I think it’s an opportunity to extend their learning by having them practice in different ways,” Assistant Superintendent Judi Paredes said after handing out iPod touches to a group of youngsters. “Most importantly, it gives them the opportunity to do that at any time, at any place.”

Madison Principal John McCombs said that many students at his school don’t have their own high-tech devices at home, because their families cannot afford to buy them. “This is a way we can help to level the playing field a little bit,” he said.

Bailey added that helping students to keep current with technology and learning are “very important for the future of the community and the city.”

The Digital Revolution in Riverside encourages intelligent growth in our community through a wide array of accomplishments and opportunities for lifelong learning. Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) has shown a major commitment to Riverside’s Digital Revolution. The iPod Touch devices distributed to the grateful Madison Elementary students allows them to access the high-tech learning tools from both school and home, meaning learning can occur 24 hours a day instead of only while school is in session.  RUSD’s Digital Textbook program also helps promote this culture of learning through access to 21st century technology. 

Read the full article on the RUSD website.

Improvement in Graduation Rates Shows Commitment to Culture of Lifelong Learning

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CBU 2012 Commencement

Cal Baptist University’s largest graduating class in history.

Riverside promotes a culture of lifelong learning and a greater quality of life through the diverse array of educational and developmental opportunities ranging from K-12 to institutions of higher education. The 2011-2012 school year has shown great results for efforts made in Riverside through Completion Counts, a partnership between the City and local schools to advance educational attainment at all levels of learning. The collaborative effort is critical in strengthening Riverside’s regional competitiveness and our long-term economic growth.

High School Graduation Rates on the Rise

2010 Census data shows that citywide, 79% of students in Riverside graduate from high school, 42% enroll in college, 14% graduate from a 2-year college, and 66% graduate from a 4-year university. Riversiders can be proud to see that community-driven efforts to improve these numbers and cultivate an educated workforce have gained momentum. A June 2012 Press Enterprise Article emphasized the steady progress made in Riverside, stating that “In Riverside County, nearly 81% of students who began high school as freshman in 2007 graduated with their class in 2011, 3% more than in 2010.

Click to enlarge.

The article also noted that “Most Inland schools are doing better than the state average graduation rate. The top Inland schools, Chaparral High School in Temecula and King High School in Riverside, have the region’s highest graduation rate of 96.5 percent.”

This is on track with the Completion Counts Action Plan to raise these numbers by 2020: 90% of high school students will graduate, 62% of students will go on to college, 42% of students who start at a 2-year college will complete or transfer, 72% of students who start at a 4-year college will complete their degree.

Record Breaking University Graduation Numbers

Riverside is home to four internationally recognized universities and colleges: University of California, Riverside; Cal Baptist University; La Sierra University; and Riverside City College. These institutions for higher education offer a wide array of degree and credential programs and range in size from about 20,000 students to 2,000. The chart below provides a summary of enrollment and graduation numbers as well as degree programs offered at each school.

Click to enlarge.

University of California, Riverside (UCR) graduated the largest class in the its history with a total of 5,016 graduates. California Baptist University’s (CBU) Class of 2012 was the largest in CBU’s 62-year history, numbering 1,330 graduates and surpassing the 1,000-graduate mark for the fourth consecutive year. Although La Sierra University’s graduating class of 343 did not set a new high, the 2012 graduating class showcased the University’s diversity with students who arrived from 36 countries, represented 22 faiths and ranged in age from 21 – 66.

Riverside has tremendous intellectual capital and its schools are devoted to excellence in teaching and learning. These invaluable assets serve as the foundation for the most desirable attributes in a unified city – a strong innovative economy, an able workforce, opportunities for intelligent growth, welcoming places to gather and be entertained, art in all its forms, quality health care and respect for one another. These attributes of a high quality of life make the City of Riverside a location of choice to pursue an education and grow in your career.

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Riverside Leaders Kick Off RCC Two-Year Completion Guarantee To Raise College Graduation Rates

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On Monday, May 7th Mayor Ron Loveridge and Completion Counts, a citywide partnership of education, civic and business leaders, kicked off the Riverside City College two-year completion guarantee, which looks to boost college access and success for local youth. Students at Norte Vista High School gathered in their gymnasium to learn about the new citywide initiative as high school graduation approaches.

The guarantee assures that eligible 2012 graduates of Alvord and Riverside Unified School Districts get priority class registration at RCC and a seat in classes to help them earn an associates degree, or transfer to a four-year university, within two years of enrolling.

The RCC two-year guarantee is part of an ambitious effort led by Completion Counts to raise the number of Riverside students who enroll and graduate from college by 2020. The partnership is driven by the City of Riverside, Riverside City College, Alvord Unified School District, Riverside Unified School District, Riverside County Office of Education, UC Riverside, and the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce.

California’s budget cuts to education are driving community colleges to make changes to address the specific needs of their campus and community, while still making higher education accessible to everyone. Through Completion Counts, RCC is now focusing its efforts to give priority to eligible local incoming students, whom are overwhelmingly the first in their families to go to college.

“We know that for some of you right now college is just a dream, but we’ve been working very hard to make college a real possibility,” said Board President of Riverside Unified School District Gayle Cloud to a packed gymnasium. “This kind of collaboration between K-12 and higher education is unheard of in many communities – but we’re making it happen here in Riverside,” she said.

Dr. Cynthia Azari, President of Riverside City College presented the details of the guarantee. To participate, students must meet certain criteria including: score high in a college-entrance English and math test, complete the 2012-13 Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), attend full-time and maintain a 2.0 GPA at RCC. The guarantee does not apply at the Moreno Valley or Norco colleges.

RCC provides opportunities for technical education and transitions to four year universities and produces a highly educated workforce. The two-year completion guarantee shows the commitment to lifelong learning and a college-going culture in Riverside by ensuring that students achieve their academic goals through accessible and efficient means.

Riverside Hosts National History Day California State Finals Competition

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The National History Day – California State Finals competition took place at the Riverside Convention Center from April 27 to April 29 with approximately 1,000 students, parents, and teachers in attendance at the competition.

The local committee, comprised of representatives from the Visitors and Convention Bureau, the Convention Center, the Riverside Downtown Partnership, and the Riverside Unified School District scheduled activities for the students on April 28th with a number of the events open to the public.

In conjunction with the Riverside Metropolitan Museum’s “Force of Arms: Riverside’s Participation in American Wars from 1861-2011” exhibit, the National World War II Museum displayed actual World War II footlockers filled with artifacts from “the war that changed the world.”  In addition, Walter D. Ehlers, the only surviving recipient of the Medal of Honor to have stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day, shared some of his war-time experiences.

The Culver Center of the Arts screened a special video about the history of Camp Anza, Riverside’s World War II staging camp, and host Frank Teurlay, author of Riverside’s Camp Anza and Arlanza, shared his thoughts on Riverside’s World War II camp.

Along downtown Main Street, between 6th Street and University Avenue, several groups re-enacted history through performances. The Sons of the American Revolution set up a recruiting tent, marched in formation, fired muskets and cannons, and shared their knowledge of Revolutionary War clothing, weapons and life with the community. Members of Soldados y Californios de Southern California and Yester Year Dancers demonstrated clothing, weapons, dance and music typical of the California Mission period.

 George Washington re-enactor Roger Cooper will present a program entitled “1775, decisions need to be made,” addressing the Continental Congress for support for the new Continental Army. Characters from Riverside’s own Dickens Festival were also present on the Mall.

Saturday evening featured a public talk by Martin Dugard, co-author of Killing Lincoln, before the announcement of the weekend’s History Day finalists. Mr. Dugard attended Riverside’s Notre Dame High School while his father was stationed at March Air Force Base.  The discussion was jointly sponsored by the RCVB, City of Riverside, Riverside County Office of Education, and the Riverside Unified School District’s Teaching American History Project.

Finally, on Saturday evening there was a screening of the movie, ‘Captain America’ in the Convention Center plaza sponsored by the Riverside Downtown Partnership in conjunction with the City of Riverside’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Hosting the National History Day California State Finals gave Riverside a unique opportunity to show off  the many intelligent and talented students as well as the culture of lifelong learning that can be found in the City of Arts & Innovation.

To learn more about the NHD program, visit the National History Day California web site at www.historydaycalifornia.org.

Riverside Magazine Highlights How Riverside Breaks Through the Digital Divide

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This month’s issue of Riverside Magazine covers several of Riverside’s wins including the combined efforts of the City, non-profit organizations, and technology corporations towards becoming an intelligent community. 

The following is an excerpt from the article discussing technology integration throughout the city and in the classroom. 

Smart, By Design

Written by Jesse B. Gill, Photos by Gabriel Luis Acosta

Riverside has many of the ingredients necessary to compete in a smarter, more advanced and connected 21st century economy: tech-savvy elementary and high school students, research-based centers of higher learning, forward-thinking business leaders, engaged city leadership … and now those elements are coming together to improve Riverside’s national — and even global — standing. We take a look at some of the highlights:

Digital education

Visit any campus in the Riverside Unified School District and you’ll likely see a familiar sight: students fiddling with smartphones, iPod Touches and laptops. But you’ll also discover an important difference: students are encouraged to use their electronic gadgets in class. Many of them are even given the gadgets by the district.

It’s part of an effort to make those devices an integral part of the education experience, according to Jay McPhail, RUSD’s director of instructional technology. “We’re trying to use current technology to extend learning in the way it’s extending communication and gaming in the non-educational world,” he said. The concept behind the district’s digital endeavor is that learning can occur 24 hours a day instead of only while school is in session. Since many students — especially the older ones — spend so much time on their smartphones anyway, district officials decided to try to inject education into those devices too. “Our students can learn 24/7 or they can play 24/7, but they shouldn’t need two different devices,” McPhail said.

From pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, the district is encouraging students to learn using different gadgets, including iPod Touches, iPads, Android tablets and laptops. Thanks to grants from Apple, Target and Verizon, plus state and federal governments, and partnerships with 20 companies, the district has been able to provide 12,500 electronic devices to students in all grades.

Teachers also invite students to bring their own devices to class. At Bryant and Pachappa elementary schools, kindergarteners are using iPod Touches and iPads to improve their English and math skills. And last fall, Ramona High School went digital — becoming the first comprehensive public high school in the state and the third in the nation to make the leap.

Students were issued Android tablet computers to access all of the learning materials they need for every class, making it unnecessary to carry a backpack stuffed with heavy textbooks. Even lessons that teachers present in class can be automatically uploaded to each tablet. “We encourage students to personalize the devices because they take better care of them if they do that,” said McPhail, adding that students are responsible for the tablets just like they used to be for the textbooks. There are plans for the district to fully integrate digital devices at each school site and make sure that every student has access to them. Said McPhail: “We’re trying to bridge the digital divide.”

(To view to the full article, click here)

Riverside strives to be a leader in access and integration of technology in the community. The efforts of SmartRiverside, Innovative Economy Corporation, and the School Districts to use of digital resources in the community is a reflection of the City of Arts and Innovation’s commitment to technological advancement.