WESTMINSTER pupils did well on the recent state tests.

Students in the Westminster School District are scoring well in the latest round of state standardized tests. In the recent California Assessment for Student Performance and Progress, 50 percent of WSD students met or exceeded the standards in math, outperforming the state average of 37 percent.

In English language arts, 55 percent met or beat the standard, compared to 49 percent statewide. Students in the Westminster system showed a year-to-year growth of 4 percent in math and 5 percent in English. In science, 69 percent of fifth graders and 74 percent of eighth graders met or exceeded the standards.

The WSD is a K-8 district serving most of Westminster and parts of Garden Grove and Huntington Beach.

Youth ChalleNGe cadets to clean up the beach

More than 100 cadets attending the Cal Guard’s Sunburst Youth ChalleNGe Academy will join the Huntington Beach Police Department and the Huntington Beach City of Compassion project to clean up parts of the city on Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon.

Sunburst welcomes hundreds of high school dropouts and at-risk teens to Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos every year to participate in a 5 ½-month, residential, military-style school that teaches academics, leadership, discipline and the value of community service while building self-esteem and confidence. In a typical school cycle, about 200 cadets provide more than 10,000 hours of volunteer service to the community.

The Sunburst Academy intervenes in and reclaims the lives of at-risk youths to produce program graduates with the values, skills, education and self-discipline necessary to succeed as productive citizens. For more information on this event or the Sunburst program, contact Warrant Officer 1 Rochelle Sonza at (562)-299-8977 or rochelle.b.sonza.nfg@mail.mil.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH meeting in the Sol Vista area of Westminster (WPD photo).

Westminster residents unite to battle crime

The Westminster Police Department is giving a big shout out to the Sol Vista neighborhood (northwest Westminster) for organizing one of the best neighborhood watch meetings in town. They also started an online Nextdoor page with over 500 residents. The neighborhood invited Sgt. Alan Iwashita and Cpl. Scott Gump to stop by its meeting Monday night. Residents have taken the initiative to make their own signs and are investing in their own neighborhood surveillance cameras.

Firefighters endorse Montoya for GG council

The Garden Grove firefighters union has endorsed Rickk Montoya in his campaign for City Council District 6. The International Association of Firefighters Local 2055 is backing Montoya for the east-side seat.

“I am honored to receive this endorsement for our Garden Grove firefighters,” Montoya said. “I have been a long-time advocate for increased public safety and I’m a strong believer in ensuring our fire department has has the necessary resources in order to protect and support our community.”

Montoya worked as a 911 dispatcher for the Los Angeles Police Department.