CVUHSD News

Dear CVUHSD Family,

Welcome back for the second semester of the 2023-2024 school year! We're already at the end of our third week, and it's wonderful to see our students settling into their routines. I hope your family had a restful and enjoyable break.

I'd like to take a moment to emphasize the importance of regular school attendance. Being in school every day is crucial for students' learning and success. Consistent attendance helps keep our students on track academically and engaged in school activities. Please encourage your child to make the most of each school day.

We understand that sometimes students need a little extra help, and we're here to support them. I want to ask parents to seek assistance early…don’t wait until the last minute! This proactive approach can make a huge difference in ensuring that students finish the year strong and reach their full potential. Information on tutoring and other support services is available on our District and our school websites, or you can ask your student’s counselor or a school administrator to assist you. Please take advantage of these resources to help your child excel in their studies. 

Safety and wellbeing are always our top priorities. We operate under a "see something, say something" policy. If your child notices any suspicious or inappropriate behavior, especially by an adult on campus, they should report it to their Principal immediately. For those who prefer anonymity, our Anonymous Alerts system is always available, and the submitted information goes directly to our Director of Security. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our schools safe and welcoming for everyone.

In other news, the Governor's budget proposal for the 2024-2025 school year has been announced. While it indicates some budget shortfalls, the Education sector has been mostly spared from significant cuts. This is encouraging news for our schools and students, but we’ll keep you posted on any changes for the final budget in June.

Lastly, I'm proud to share that at our January School Board Meeting, we celebrated "School Board Recognition Month." We recognized the hard work and dedication of our Board of Education members. Their commitment to our schools and students is invaluable, and we are grateful for their service.

Thank you for your ongoing support and engagement with our school district. Together, we can make this semester a successful and enriching experience for all our students.

Sincerely,

Dr. Stephen Nellman

Superintendent, Centinela Valley Union High School District

Investing in Our Students, Staff & Community: 

Competitive Grants in CVUHSD

Dr. Kelly Ganzel Santos

Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services

This year alone, the CVUHSD community is benefitting from just over $15 million in competitive grant funds. Our District has a long history of pursuing competitive grants to help fund innovative approaches to advancing our mission to prepare every student for college, career, and life. In fact, we earned our first California Partnership Academy (CPA) grant nearly 30 years ago in 1997! Since then, we have continued to apply for and have been awarded four CPA grants which help to support our Environmental Careers Academy, School of Manufacturing & Engineering, Biomedical Careers Academy, and Multimedia Careers Academy. 

However, the benefit of competitive grant funds reaches far beyond our academies. Competitive grants provide our District with opportunities to pursue additional funding to meet a broad diversity of needs. Organizations that offer competitive grants include government agencies, foundations, non-profits, as well as private entities. Such funding is awarded through a competitive application process. For each grant we pursue, we gather a grant writing team composed of staff from across our District who have knowledge and expertise aligned to each grant’s priorities, along with other partners - such as post-secondary institutions and industry specialists. 

Currently, thanks to the success of our grant writing teams, CVUHSD is utilizing competitive grant awards to not only support our academies, but also to expand career technical education (CTE) courses and pathways for students transitioning from secondary education to postsecondary education to living-wage employment. Additionally, grant funds are being used to purchase equipment and upgrades to kitchen infrastructures and offer food service staff training, and a grant from the Los Angeles County Office of Education is helping our District to more effectively address youth vaping on campus. A multitude of other grants - including the Teacher Residency Capacity Grant, the Rotary Club of Hawthorne-LAX-Lennox Teacher Mini-Grants, and the Community Schools Grant (about which you can read more HERE!) - support students’ college and career readiness, high-quality instruction, effective and caring faculty and staff, safe schools, and state-of-the-art learning technology and resources.

Ultimately, the CVUHSD community has experienced significant benefits from the awarding of competitive grant funds. The District remains committed to pursuing additional financial resources as we forge ahead on our mission to prepare every student for college, career, and life!

HAWTHORNE HIGH SCHOOL

Hawthorne High School recognized the hard work of our Visual and Performing Arts students and faculty at "Dancing Through the Decades" on December 7th and a Winter Concert on December 12th. HHS students in Dance Company, Band, Drumline, Choir, Piano, Ukulele, Color Guard, and Drama showcased their amazing talents. Many family and friends were in attendance to support our students and celebrate the holidays!

Looking ahead, our Academic Decathlon students have been working tirelessly in preparation for the upcoming competition on January 27th and February 3rd. HHS will be cheering them on with a loud Cougar Roar!

LAWNDALE HIGH SCHOOL

At Coffee with the Cardinals, we invited the parents of the "Students of the Semester" for special recognition. At Lawndale, we acknowledge the vital role parental support plays in students' success. Our strength lies in having dedicated parents who actively enhance our students' academic achievements.

We look forward to welcoming our Cardinal family to our Open House, taking place on February 22nd from 5:30-7:00 pm.

LEUZINGER HIGH SCHOOL

Girls and Boys Soccer and Basketball are having very successful matches against other teams in our league and our CTE Academies (MCA, ECA, and CCA) had a very successful and informative advisory dinner this month.

Next month, we look forward to in-house registration beginning on Monday, January 29th. This will be an opportunity for students in grades 9-11 to meet with their counselors and select their classes for next school year.

LLOYDE HIGH SCHOOL

On Friday, January 12th, Mr. Orendain and Mr. Perez took 18 Lloyde seniors to El Camino College for their Freshman Friday event. These students started the day off by taking a tour of the campus and then participating in the new student orientation. Each student was then assigned a college counselor and each student had an education plan mapped out for them for their first semester of college. This generated much excitement for our students about their post-high school plans and allowed them to complete all their steps for enrollment.