Lynwood Unified celebrated the graduation of nearly 900 students who reached the important milestone of receiving their high school diplomas and beginning a new chapter in their journeys into career and higher education last week.
During commencement ceremonies for 890 Lynwood, Firebaugh and Vista high school students June 11-12, students, along with parents, friends, teachers, administrators and members of the LUSD Board of Education, celebrated the culmination of their primary and secondary school careers and walked across the stage to receive the credentials they have been working years to earn.
“I want to congratulate every student for their commitment to their education and working so hard to get to this point in their lives, and I can’t wait to see each of them reach their goals and achieve their dreams,” said LUSD Board of Education President Briseida Gonzalez. “They are the pride of Lynwood Unified and it is their time to shine. Congratulations to the Class of 2014!”
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At Lynwood High School, 422 students culminated their high school experience with a graduation ceremony at their home stadium. Its valedictorian was Juan Delgadillo, whose 4.79 GPA landed him a spot on UC Irvine’s fall roster, and the salutatorian was Kevin Fregoso, who graduated with a 4.74 GPA and will also attend UC Irvine.
Firebaugh High School graduated 308 students on Thursday, June 12, when they heard inspirational stories from Valedictorian Melody Esqueda, a Gates Millennium Scholarship winner who will head to USC, and Salutatorian Araceli Negrete, who will attend UCLA this fall.
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Together with the Pathway Independent Study Program, Vista High School held its promotional ceremony for 160 students on June 12 at the City of Lynwood’s Bateman Hall. The valedictorian was Crystal Partida, and the student speakers were Andrea Diaz and Luis Ochoa.
“These commencement ceremonies serve as community celebrations to not only recognize our hard-working students, but also their families, who have been instrumental in helping support our efforts to prepare their children for career and post-secondary education,” said LUSD Superintendent Paul Gothold. “It is our hope and expectation that each of them will continue on their journeys, where they will go out into the world to learn, mature and grow into successful young pioneers of the future.”
Lynwood Unified's two comprehensive high schools are graduating more students than ever, with each boasting significant double-digit graduation rate increases since the 2010-11 school year. Since then, the number of graduating seniors at Firebaugh High has skyrocketed nearly 20 percent, with 89.1 percent of seniors graduating in 2012-13. Similarly, Lynwood High has also seen a significant increase, with 80.9 percent of seniors graduating in 2012-13.
More photos can be viewed at: www.facebook.com/LynwoodUSD.