Pomona Unified School District Fall Newsletter

P OMONA Unified School District • • • • RESPECT RELATIONSHIPS RESPONSIBILITY RESULTS Serving students from Pomona and Diamond Bar Pomona Unified Launches English-Mandarin Immersion Program O Mandarin or Spanish and 50 percent of instruction is in English. The class comprises native English speakers and native Mandarin or Spanish speakers, enabling both sets of students to interact and learn new vocabulary skills. “This program presents our students with a unique opportunity to speak multiple languages both inside and beyond the walls of a traditional classroom,” said Pantera Principal Todd Riffell. “Students’ education will be enhanced because of the cultural awareness, acceptance and rich language that is shared and exchanged between students enrolled in these classrooms.” For information, visit www.pusd.org/DLI. ne class of Pantera Elementary kindergartners is learning to read, write and communicate effectively in both English and Mandarin through the introduction of Pomona Unified’s latest dual-language immersion (DLI) program. “At this age, children are able to learn a foreign language much easier than they would if they were older,” said Pantera teacher Jie Gao, who has been teaching students how to say and read numbers and take classroom directions through song, dance and hand movements. The new program is in addition to SpanishEnglish DLI programs at Montvue and Westmont elementary schools. Each program follows a 50:50 model, where 50 percent of instruction occurs in the target language of Distrito Unificado de Pomona impulsa programa de inmersión inglés-mandarín U na clase de niños de kínder de la Escuela Primaria Pantera está aprendiendo a leer, escribir y comunicarse efectivamente en inglés y mandarín a través de la introducción del más reciente programa de enseñanza con inmersión de doble lenguaje (DLI, por sus siglas en inglés). “A esta edad, los niños son capaces de aprender un lenguaje extranjero con mayor facilidad que si fueran mayores”, afirmó la maestra de la escuela Pantera, Jie Gao, quien ha estado enseñando a los estudiantes a pronunciar y leer números, y a seguir las indicaciones del salón de clases a través del canto, baile y de movimientos manuales. El nuevo programa se suma a los programas de enseñanza dual de español-inglés en las escuelas primarias Montvue y Westmont. Cada programa sigue el modelo 50:50; es decir, que el 50 por ciento de la instrucción se brinda en el lenguaje deseado, ya sea mandarín o español, y la otra mitad en inglés. La clase incluye tanto a angloparlantes como a estudiantes de habla hispana o mandarín, propiciando en ambos grupos la oportunidad de interactuar y aprender nuevas habilidades de vocabulario. “Este programa les presenta a nuestros estudiantes una oportunidad única de hablar varios idiomas, tanto dentro como más allá de las paredes (Continúa en la página 4) Pomona High Educator Named L.A. County Teacher of the Year P omona High School English teacher Cynthia Hinton was born to teach. As a child, she would often read the Little Golden Books collection, newspapers and magazines at the encouragement of her mother, a longtime teacher. She also used a slate chalkboard to play teacher to her younger siblings. Now a fifth-generation educator who has been teaching in public schools for 41 years, Hinton has earned one of the most praiseworthy distinctions of her career: she is one of 16 educators named a Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. “I have always seen the potential in every child to academically succeed,” said Hinton, a 25-year Pomona Unified teacher and 2015-16 PUSD Teacher of the Year. “My message to my colleagues is to be a lighthouse of hope, light the classroom with the smile of joy for learning and guide your students to be resilient, lifelong learners.” The title puts Hinton in an elite group of teachers who represent the best of 72,000 K-12 public school educators in the county. Hinton serves as the school’s English Department (Continued on page 4) Pomona Unified School District FALL 2015 BOARD OF EDUCATION Andrew S. Wong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . President Adrienne Konigar-Macklin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vice President Dr. Roberta A. Perlman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member Jason A. Rothman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member Frank Guzman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member ECRWSS 800 S. Garey Avenue Pomona, CA 91766 POMONA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 3415 Chino, CA Visit www.pusd.org for more information. Residential Customer ADMINISTRATORS Richard Martinez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Superintendent of Schools Stephanie Baker . . . . . . . . . Deputy Superintendent, Educational Services Leslie Barnes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Superintendent, Business Services Darren Knowles . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources Fernando Meza . . . . . Administrative Director, Pupil & Community Services