Hi everyone. It’s been said that April showers bring May flowers and I believe that is happening right now. May also brings award programs, recognition ceremonies, music performances and the beginning of commencement and promotion season.

This is the most enjoyable time of year for all Board members because of all the exciting end of the year events, so keep your hats on since there has been a lot happening since my last article and they will continue through the first week of June.

Since I last wrote in April, Downey High held their annual Viking Awards. This annual awards ceremony recognizes students who work hard, achieve goals, demonstrate exemplar behavior and positively contribute to their class. The Downey Civic Theatre was packed with proud families and friends as 230 students were recognized across all grade levels within 19 different categories.

Columbus High also had their second annual Lion’s Pride Senior Awards Night at the Harriet Paine Event Center on campus. Thanks to our amazing Downey community, there were 68 scholarships awarded that night. What a wonderful city we live in that has organizations generously support our students every year.

At the end of April, Old River Elementary held their 2nd Annual Community Night where representatives from various local organizations and businesses gathered to share what they offer throughout the community. I saw representatives from Boy and Girl Scouts, the City Library, various sports teams and local non-profits, as well as many other organizations. Oh, and let’s not forget the great food trucks, yum!

Since we’re talking about city organizations, I’d like to thank the Downey Police and Fire Departments for their continuous partnership and all they do in support of our schools. They recently held their 10th Annual Awards Luncheon to honor Firefighter of the Year, Jake Jerzykowski, and Police Officer of the Year, Corporal Jason Estrada. Congratulations to both award recipients.

PTA has also held various events and recognitions, including the PTA School of Excellence award that was recently granted to Alameda Elementary. This award is a recognition of the year-long commitment to strengthen the family-school partnership to improve family engagement and make a difference for every child. Congrats to Alameda! Along with this award, PTA also presented over 50 Honorary Service Awards in April at a lovely awards ceremony. This night shined a light on our parents, teachers, staff, volunteers and community members who have gone above and beyond to support our children and schools. As we say in Downey Unified, “Our Kids Deserve the Best” and these volunteers are among the best of the best.

Warren High held two major events in April, their semi-annual Hall of Fame Ceremony as well as hosted the prestigious Unified Sports Track Meet. The Hall of Fame is a way to honor alumni who have distinguished themselves in athletics, business/service or was a previous faculty member that had an enormous impact on the campus. This year’s ceremony included four inductees. Both Downey and Warren high schools have a Hall of Fame, if you know someone that you think should be honored there are applications on the schools’ websites with more details on the qualifications. The Unified Sports Track Meet is a registered program of the Special Olympics that combines students with and without intellectual disabilities to compete against other Unified Teams from various schools across the state. The schools who participated expanded past our Downey Unified middle and high schools, bringing our students together with students from schools such as Trabuco Hills, Mayfair and Locke College Preparator Academy. The Warren HS Unified Cheer team was also in attendance and put on a great opening performance. What a great day they all had.

To wrap things up as we get toward the close of the school year, I want to remind our families that we have some of the best VAPA programs and every year they are getting better. In case you missed it, these past few weeks there were many opportunities to see some of these programs in person. I wish I could talk about them all in great length but it’s just not possible in this article. I am, however, going to let you know what performances have been held. Warren High performed “In the Heights” with a live band in the Emerson Theater and retiring Choir teacher, Robert Peterson, had his final concert at the Downey Civic Theatre. Downey High also utilized the Downey Civic Theatre for their Spring Concert that included their band classes, vocal groups and a production of “Mean Girls” was put on by their Drama Department. Stauffer’s Drama performed “Peter Pan Jr.” in the Spartan Cafeteria. We also had our inaugural Mariachi Music Festival presented by Lupita Infante that was well-attended by schools inside and outside our district.

May Shout Outs:

Congrats to Downey High, Sussman Middle and Lewis Elementary schools for being highlighted in an article in De Los which is powered by the LA Times. Here is a link if you missed it: bit.ly/downey-legend.

Special gift from the Warren High’s Audio-Visual class and Advisor Mr. Nelson – students will be creating a 13ft x 11ft video screen which will be featured during both Warren and Downey’s commencement ceremony. For the first time, our families will have the opportunity to really see their graduates on stage in the middle of the field, thanks to the skills of are amazingly talented students.

Dates to Remember:

• May 30 – Warren High School Commencement Ceremony; 6 pm, LBCC Veteran’s Stadium

• May 31 – Downey High School Commencement Ceremony; 6 pm, LBCC Veteran’s Stadium

• May 31 – Woodruff Academy Promotion; 10 am, Woodruff Garden

• June 3 – Stauffer Middle School Promotion; 6 pm, WHS Football Stadium

• June 3 – Sussman Middle School Promotion; 6 pm, DHS Football Stadium

• June 4 – Doty Middle School Promotion; 6 pm, DHS Football Stadium

• June 4 – Griffiths Middle School Promotion; 6 pm, WHS Football Stadium

• June 5 – Last day of school (Minimum day)

• June 5 – Columbus High School Commencement Ceremony; 6 pm, WHS Football Stadium

• June 11 – Elementary STEAMworks and ESY begins

• June 13 – Middle and High School Summer School begins

I want to close with a big THANK YOU to all our staff members. Since the end of April and all throughout May, there are recognition weeks/days that honor the various members of our amazing Downey Unified family. So, although I could write an entire article thanking our staff, I just wanted to take a moment to express our deep gratitude for everyone’s hard work, dedication, and the role that each play in living the Downey Unified vision. I want to echo something that was shared with our staff at the end of April, by repeating publicly that we are continually impressed by our staff’s unwavering dedication and passion for our students. Their commitment of making a meaningful difference in the lives of our students is truly commendable and we want to share our sincere appreciation for their efforts.

Remember to Take the Time to be KIND,

Nancy A. Swenson
President, Downey Unified Board of Education