As a student at Anaheim High School in the 1990s, the principal’s office was probably not where Robert Saldivar wanted to spend most of his time.
When classes start next week, the same office will have a new feel for him.
Saldivar is Anaheim High’s new principal — and the school’s first graduate in its 119-year history to become principal. The Orange County Register sat with Saldivar, a graduate of the class of 1996, for an interview this week.
Saldivar told the Register his long-term goal “is to ensure our students are college ready, career ready and life ready. When they leave our campus, they are ready to face the challenges that lay ahead whether they are going to a four-year university or a community college, military, job or whatever it is.”
And here’s some more education news from the week ending Aug. 4:
- As America looks to rebuild its infrastructure, the next generation of engineers is practicing constructing bridges out of spaghetti. It’s part of a nationwide competition that gives high school students the chance to explore engineering concepts and earn college credit. At Cal State Fullerton, 45 students designed and built bridges using dry spaghetti and epoxy, then tested them to see how much weight they could hold before breaking.
- About three dozen students across Orange County have landed internships this summer in high-demand industries through OC Pathways, a collaborative led by the Orange County Department of Education.The goal of these internships is to connect industries with students, training them to eventually serve as their next generation of skilled workers.
- Harry Potter, Junie B. Jones, the Three Little Pigs and other literary characters from more than 400 books were in search of new homes this month as the First Book Tesoro club led its first book drive at Tesoro High School to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Southern California. Tesoro student Sara Kurd-Misto co-founded the club after learning about First Book, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that provides books and educational materials to children in need.
- La Vista and La Sierra high schools in Fullerton Joint Union High School District are launching a third career tech education course this school year to give continuation and at-risk students real life work experience. A new Graphics Production Technologies program will grant teenagers access to color printing services and put them “on a pathway to find skilled employment,” Principal Sandi Layana said.
- Four dozen girls from 28 high schools participated in this summer’s Project MISS (Mathematics Intensive Summer Session) at Cal State Fullerton to got a leg up on their math skills with an eye toward pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.
That’s all for this week. For more education news stories, visit news.ocde.us.