HERITAGE Elementary School students Elizabeth Gonzalez and Carla Garcia show off their computer coding skills during the school’s Family Technology Night to announce the new Computer Immersion Academy (GGUSD photo).
Garden Grove Unified School District has partnered with Code to the Future, the nation’s premier creator of computer science immersion schools, to launch the district’s first Computer Science Immersion Academy at Heritage Elementary School in Santa Ana beginning in 2018-2019.
All students who attend Heritage will be part of the Computer Science Immersion Academy, learning programming, robotics, coding, and other computer programming skills as part of their daily instruction.
On March 8, Heritage hosted a special event to announce the academy program to families. Parents and students enjoyed a barbecue, school-wide coding and an evening packed full of interactive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) activities.
Students will also develop and strengthen core skills such as communication, creativity, critical thinking, in addition to 21st century skills that are projected to be in high demand in the near future. Teachers will receive regular training resources and support in emerging technologies and STEM-centered instructional strategies.
GGUSD schools get highest honor for AVID Program
Three schools in Garden Grove Unified School District were recognized for earning the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Schoolwide Site of Distinction award for 2017-2018. Alamitos Intermediate School, Doig Intermediate School, and Santiago High School were among only five schools in Orange County to earn the national recognition for demonstrating the highest level of implementation of AVID’s college and career readiness program.
Across the nation, 173 schools were recognized with the AVID Schoolwide Site of Distinction Award and 68 were from California. This puts GGUSD in an elite group of schools that are leading the way in college and career readiness.
To be recognized for an AVID Schoolwide Site of Distinction, schools must meet a set of benchmarks that include a minimum percentage of students applying to college, taking rigorous courses, achieving high test scores, and having a certain percentage of teachers trained in AVID strategies.
AVID is offered at the district’s seven high schools and 10 intermediate schools. Doig Intermediate School and Santiago High School are National Demonstration Schools – a distinction held by very few schools across Orange County.
GGUSD invites applicants for bond oversight panel
Applicants for the independent Bond Oversight Committee, tasked with overseeing lawful and appropriate expenditures of the Garden Grove Unified School District’s bond funds are now being sought.
The Committee meets several times each year to provide public scrutiny and accountability for use of funds from Measure A, the $250 million bond measure approved in 2010 and Measure P, the $311 million bond measure approved in November 2016. The Committee has an opening for an individual who has a business background as well as a senior citizen representative.
The application is available online at http://www.ggusd.us/boc or from the Public Information Office at (714) 663-6503. Completed applications must be received by the Public Information Office, Garden Grove Unified School District, 10331 Stanford Ave., Garden Grove 92840, or emailed to pio_department@ggusd.us no later than 4 p.m. on March 23, 2018. All committee members must be GGUSD residents and be at least 18 years old.
New committee members will be appointed to two-year terms, starting May 10, 2018 through May 11, 2020.
The committee provides transparency and maintains public confidence in the use of Measure A and Measure P bond proceeds. California state law requires that a BOC be appointed by the Board of Education to monitor bond expenditures and ensure no bond revenues are appropriated for teacher or administrator salaries, or general district operating expenses.
Categories: Schools
