School is back in session for the 50,000 students of the Santa Ana Unified School District, who kicked off the new year on Monday with a special pledge — to graduate as seniors.
According to this story in the Orange County Register, the “I Pledge” campaign was created to emphasize each student’s commitment to claiming a diploma with their graduating class.
“If I really set my life to it and dedicate myself to it, I think I can accomplish it,” one 9-year-old told the newspaper.
Santa Ana Unified’s graduation rate is already pretty impressive at 91.6 percent, which easily eclipses the state average of 83.2 percent and tops the county average of 90.8 percent.
Here are some other education stories from the week ending Friday, Aug. 18:
- With many schools reopening in mid to late August, some districts are challenged with keeping their classrooms cool amid soaring summer temperatures.
- A recent Tustin Unified graduate took ownership of the new car he won after being randomly selected from a pool of students with perfect high school attendance.
- Despite tough new legislation, hundreds of campuses throughout California have high enough numbers of unvaccinated students that they face an elevated risk of disease outbreaks, according to an analysis by the Los Angeles Times.
- The Garden Grove Unified School District opened a Family Resource Center to provide everything from immigration assistance to domestic violence resources.
- The countdown is on for Monday’s solar eclipse, and the OCDE Newsroom has you covered with tips for viewing it safely.
- Giving an assist to low-income families with school-age children, a local group called Connecting Hands OC issued 350 backpacks filled with school supplies at Santa Ana Zoo.
- And finally, the Orange County Register recently compiled some historic dos and don’ts for teachers and students dating back to the 19th and 20th centuries. The back-to-school package also features some current stats for the 2017-18 academic year.