The Westminster School District added exit interviews to Warner Middle students’ eighth-grade promotion experience.
On June 15, the district enlisted assistance from professional mixed martial arts fighters, Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders and Angels staff members along with city employees to speak with students about their experience at Warner and goals for the future.
Speaking with ABC 7 Los Angeles, the rising freshmen expressed their excitement about conversing with professionals from different industries.
“It’s a really good chance for me to self-reflect and to express my joys and memories from school with another individual who really values education,” said student Donna Huynh, who aspires to attend the University of California, Berkeley and become a pharmacist.
The students’ responses impressed the interviewers.
“They have a lot of ambitions and goals,” said Amanda McCarthy, a cheerleader for the Rams. “Some of them even know where they want to go to college at eighth grade.”
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- Registration is open for the Orange County Department of Education’s three-day professional learning series that will help educators better understand artificial intelligence and its potential impacts in and out of the classroom.
- Two-time Grammy-nominated artist Julian Marley spoke with Orange County students about his love of reggae and how he’s carrying on his father’s legacy.
- The Newport-Mesa Unified School District announced four key personnel changes ahead of the next academic year, which included the appointment of new principals at Wilson and College Park elementary schools.
- Lawmakers are making unprecedented investments in an effort to retain teachers in the state. As CalMatters reported, the state will offer prospective educators a grant if they commit to serving at a high-poverty school after their training.
- An investigative report completed by the Orange County Jury recommends districts hire additional school resource officers and improve building and equipment infrastructure to boost safety.
- About two dozen high school students enrolled in United Way of Orange County’s First Responders Academy experienced what a typical shift for an emergency medical technician would feel like. The program combines classroom instruction with real-world experiences by connecting students to employers.
- Orange Unified School District trustees voted to adopt a parents’ bill of rights to secure the rights of parents and guardians to be heard in their children’s education. As the OC Register reported, the board also unanimously voted to approve a policy to only fly the American flag and California state flag on district and campus flagpoles.
- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and legislators on a new task force elicited commitments from publishers and vowed more oversight with potential penalties on school boards that resist state policies on inclusive materials.
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