-
BUSD delegation attends Safe Schools Conference
A group of dedicated professionals from BUSD attended the 14th annual Safe Schools Conference held July 12-14, 2023. Our staff learned about critical school issues and strategies to address them. The topics discussed included Bullying & Cyberbully Prevention, Drug Trends, Mental Health, Online Safety, PBIS, and Threat Assessment.
No Headlines to display -
Bellflower Unified honored by Supervisor Janice Hahn
During the July 6th Board Meeting, Lauren Yokomizo, a representative from Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office, presented the Bellflower Unified School District with a scroll to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
No Headlines to display -
Congratulations Class of 2023
Click on this news item to watch a graduation recap video highlighting BUSD's class of 2023.
No Headlines to display -
Student Board Member Christopher Mendoza
At the May 25th board meeting, the Board of Education proudly recognized Student Board Member, Christopher Mendoza. Christopher made BUSD history when he was sworn in at the July 14, 2022 board meeting as the first-ever student board member. Throughout the year, Christopher actively represented the student voice, ensuring that the perspectives and concerns of fellow students were heard and valued. Congratulations Christopher and thank you for your service to our community.
No Headlines to display -
BHS students recognized by Congressman Robert Garcia
Bellflower High School students, Journey Johnson and Melany Castro, have been recognized by Congressman Robert Garcia in the 1st Annual CA-42 Congressional Art Competition. Out of over 150 high school student entries, Journey and Melany emerged as two finalists among a total of 18 student artists. Congratulations Journey and Melany on this well-deserved recognition.
No Headlines to display -
2022-2023 Classified Employee of the Year
Join us in congratulating Patricia Gutierrez on being selected as the Bellflower Unified School District Classified Employee of the Year! She has served the Bellflower Unified School District for close to a decade, beginning as a Special Education Instructional Aide at Esther Lindstrom and Washington. Most know her fondly as “Tricia”! She has helped countless students, teachers, and other colleagues. Although Tricia primarily supports Washington, she has also been entrusted to support students at other schools due to her impressive skills. In addition, she is a member of the school’s PBIS team and works to provide support in her community.
No Headlines to display -
STEAM Dedication Ceremony
The Bellflower Unified School District achieved a significant milestone with the dedication ceremony for the state-of-art STEAM building at Mayfair High School. Members of the Board of Education, including Dr. Sue ElHessen, Brad Crihfield, Mayra Garza, Christopher Mendoza, Mayfair Principal Sean Diaz, and Superintendent Dr. Drati proudly unveiled the dedication plaque. Together they cut the celebratory ribbon, officially opening the STEAM building to our community. This trailblazing facility opens up endless possibilities for our students, providing them with a strong foundation for a bright future.
No Headlines to display -
2022-2023 Teacher of the Year
We are thrilled to recognize, Melissa Ellis as this year’s recipient of the Bellflower Unified School District Teacher of the Year Award. Melissa Ellis has served the district for 17 years, beginning as a science teacher at Bellflower Middle/High School, and progressing to become a full-time Career Technical Education (CTE) educator. She teaches Intro to Health Careers, Medical Assistant, Counseling, Mental Health courses and serves as the CTE department Chair, always making decisions in the best interest of her students. Congratulations to Melissa for this prestigious honor!
No Headlines to display -
Elementary Open House
During the first week of May, all elementary schools in the Bellflower Unified School District hosted Open House events. These events provided an excellent opportunity for families and community members to explore classrooms, view student projects, and meet with educators. The events featured exciting grade-level performances and showcased student artwork. In one classroom at Craig Williams, students demonstrated a sheep-eye dissection!
No Headlines to display -
City of Bellflower Bravo Awards
On Thursday, the City of Bellflower hosted the 27th Annual Bravo Awards to recognize acts of valor and outstanding service in the community. Samuel Chukwurah from Somerset High School and Alicia Frausto from Bellflower High School were among the honorees for their award-winning essays on public safety. During the ceremony, Bellflower High School's Vocal Ensemble performed the National Anthem and met keynote speaker and American Ninja Warrior Host Matt Iseman.
No Headlines to display -
Halo Classic Game
The first-ever Halo Classic was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our baseball teams to compete in a rivalry game at Angel Stadium. Congratulations to Mayfair on their thrilling 4-1 victory over Bellflower. The game was tied 1-1 when Nathan Baca knocked in an RBI single to take the lead. Stellar pitching performances from Nolan Fox, Joel Dawson, and Michael Corrales kept Mayfair on top. BHS senior Chris Guillen’s RBI single scored Bellfower’s only run. The atmosphere was electric throughout the stands. It was an incredible experience for the players, coaches, and the community.
No Headlines to display -
CalAPS Skills USA Competition
BUSD students from Las Flores, Bellflower, Mayfair and CalAPS attended the SkillsUSA State Competition at the Ontario Convention Center. Teams competed and won medals for contest areas such as: Smart Home, Commercial UAS Drone, and SkillsUSA Creed. Our students displayed their industry-standard knowledge, leadership and skills throughout the weekend. A special thank you goes to their teachers who guided them throughout the competition. Congratulations to all the participants.
No Headlines to display -
GoPass Metro Partnership
The fareless K-12 GoPass Tap cards have arrived. Bellflower Unified is partnering with Metro to offer students a GoPass with unlimited rides at no cost on Metro bus and rail as part of an option to our transportation plan. Using the special GoPass Tap card that may be obtained at your child’s school office. With this pass, your child can ride for free to and from school and on trips after school and weekends from the time they activate their card until June 30, 2023.
No Headlines to display -
Washington College & Career Week
Washington Elementary organized a successful College and Career Week, which inspired students to think about their future and potential opportunities. The event featured 28 guest speakers from a diverse range of industries who shared valuable insights into different career paths with students.
No Headlines to display -
Mayfair High School Wrestling
At the March Board Meeting, the Board of Education recognized five students from Mayfair High School's Wrestling Team. Congratulations to Marie Saldana, Gabriel Santos and Turner Yanagisawa for earning Suburban Valley Conference Champion in their weight division. Isaiah Cruz and Kayden Cartee also earned Suburban Valley Conference Champion and they also earned CIF Southern Section Northern Division in their weight divisions.
No Headlines to display -
Somerset High School’s College & Career Fair
Somerset High School held their College & Career Fair this week. Students got to learn about a variety of career and college opportunities. Thank you to everyone that participated and helped our students build their futures!
No Headlines to display -
Mayfair High School’s Abilities Awareness Assembly
Mayfair High School was excited to welcome back their Abilities Awareness Assembly this week. This assembly is an educational experience through which Mayfair delivers a powerful message of equality, tolerance and understanding. Staff and students helped educate on a variety of disabilities while focusing on individual strengths and abilities. This was Mayfair’s 14th year sharing student’s stories and talents with this amazing assembly.
No Headlines to display -
Welcome to Phillip Sanchez - New Assistant Principal
Phillip Sanchez joins the Bellflower Unified School District as the new Assistant Principal of Washington Elementary School. He has over 25 years’ experience as an educator and instructional leader. He began his career as a special education aide and most recently he served as an English Language Arts Instructional Coach of an elementary school. Mr. Sanchez retired from the military as a Major with 27 years of service. He is an alumni of UC Irvine, UCLA, CSUDH and is a firm believer that all students can succeed and graduate from college. Mr. Sanchez is completing his final year in a doctorate in education program at CSULB. It is his mission to provide a safe learning environment for every student. Mr. Sanchez is excited to join Washington Elementary School and is looking forward to a productive year.
No Headlines to display -
Read Across America Day
Schools across the district celebrated Read Across America Day on Thursday, March 2nd. Thank you to all our guest readers for their involvement in the education of our students.
No Headlines to display -
PAPER Tutoring Available for TK-12th Grades
BUSD has continued its partnership with Paper Tutoring (PAPER) for this year in order to provide virtual tutoring for students in Transitional Kindergarten through twelfth grades. PAPER is a secure, online tutoring service that provides students with unlimited, 24/7 academic support. Whether a student needs assistance with homework, is studying for a test, or needs someone to read and make suggestions to their essays, there will always be experts available online to assist them in over 200 subjects and more than 4 languages. PAPER tutors have been trained to conduct expert, academic support in a secure, chat-based platform. Students can also use voice notes to communicate with the tutor by clicking the microphone icon in the chat bar. Using this feature, they can explain their questions and problems verbally. They can also listen back at a playback speed of their choice. All tutoring sessions are transcribed and can be viewed in the student's PAPER account. PAPER tutors are committed to helping students learn, so they do not just give students answers, but rather interact with them in an encouraging tone to lead them to finding the answer themselves. This is a free service, so our students are encouraged to use it as much as they need, whenever they need. To access the service, students can login to their Clever accounts and click on the PAPER icon.
No Headlines to display
