Trustees of the Los Banos Unified School Board gave recognition to exceptional students, discussed current events, and approved and authorized many new proposals at their Sept. 14 meeting.
The meeting began by giving introductions and recognition to four students from the Migrant Education Program who participated in the “Shelter and Place” Art Exhibition through UC Merced and Merced County Office of Education. Yuriana Campos Martinez and Arlye A. Gonzalez, from Los Banos High School, and Ana Higuera Solano and Alessandra George Esquivel, from Pacheco High School, were honored with Congressional Honors and had their art exhibited in the Multicultural Art Center in Merced.
Rains Stacia, the principal of Henry Miller Elementary School, announced a celebration on Oct. 7 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the school’s opening. She also expressed her appreciation to Morning Star Packing Company for giving fully-school-supplied backpacks to the first-grade students at Henry Miller Elementary in Los Banos.
Andrew Nguyen, director of student health services, announced its collaboration with Golden Valley Health Center to host a Kid’s Dental Day on Wednesday, Oct. 4 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at 725 West I St. in Los Banos. There will be free dental screenings for K-1 students in the district. It is advised to schedule ahead of time for better availability. More information can be found on the Los Banos Unified School District website.
Mariah Washington, student representative to the board from Los Banos High School, gave the first official report for Los Banos High School and Pacheco High School.
Superintendent, Mark Marshall, also gave recognition to Pacheco High School for making it on the list of best high schools in the nation, where Pacheco received first place in the district and fifth place in the Merced County Metropolitan list.
Pacheco High is holding its Back to School/Multicultural Night Oct. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. where there will be free games, food, performances and prizes.
Pacheco High’s advanced placement scores were also recognized, with 30 AP Scholar students and an average score of 3.25 on all AP exams.
Free English classes with Rosetta Stone will also be offered to parents and students at Pacheco High School Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 to 7 p.m.
Los Banos High is currently having its “decades” themed homecoming week and the homecoming game was held Sept. 22 against Grace Davis High School.
As to facilities, phase one of the Loftin Stadium project is almost complete with only fencing, gate, and asphalt work left to finish. The official ribbon cutting ceremony for Loftin was held Sept. 21.
Designs for the Los Banos High School modernization project were also shown in the meeting, where Los Banos High will have a “schematic design” in the future.
Lyndsay Manning, account executive with California for FEV (Focus Education), an online tutoring program, presented positive data about the educational growth the tutoring has given students after being implemented in schools. Students who used the tutoring had an overall math acceleration of 46 percent and Reading Acceleration of 23 percent from fall to spring.
As of the 2023 Summer School program for Los Banos High School and Pacheco High School, over 500 students were enrolled in both fall and spring semesters. Approximately 515 students completed and received their 5 credits.
Creekside Junior High School and Westside Elementary School also held successful summer school programs this year.
The board approved the Pacheco High School track and field renovations among other items of upgrade and maintenance districtwide.
