PUSD All-Star Band at Hollywood Christmas Parade (File Photo – PUSD)
News from throughout the Pasadena Unified School District.
By News Desk
PUSD All Star Band
Pasadena Unified All Star Band placed first out of eighteen marching bands in the Covina Holiday Parade this past weekend.
The PUSD All Star Band was founded in 2019 and includes students from marching bands at all four district high schools. The All Star Band has performed in the Rose Parade and the Hollywood Christmas Parade.
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Christmas Tree Lane Lighting
Pasadena Unified student musicians and performers brought holiday cheer to the annual Altadena Christmas Tree Lane Lighting Festival on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023.
Highlights below:
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Meet Eliot Interim Principal
Lanisha McKenzie has been appointed Interim Principal of Eliot Arts Magnet through the end of the school year.
McKenzie brings more than 20 years of experience as an educator to her new role at Eliot, and most recently served as assistant principal of Marshall for eight years. Lanisha McKenzie has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Riverside; a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration; and an Administrative Service Credential from California State University, Los Angeles.
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Katherine Mickelson (Photo – PUSD)
PEF Teachers Awards
The Pasadena Education Foundation (PEF) delivered $223,000 in grants to 222 PUSD educators during the annual “drive-through” teacher parade last week.
Washington Elementary STEM Magnet fourth-grade teacher Katherine Mickelson will use her PEF award for wobble chairs – ideal for kids who just can’t sit still. She says the chairs help students “get their wiggles out” and can be beneficial for everyone. This is the largest amount of money awarded in PEF’s 50+ year history.
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Yasdeli Chavez Chilel with her family (Photo – PUSD)
Yasdeli Chavez Chilel
Pasadena Unified student Yasdeli Chavez Chilel has been selected from 25 area school districts for a $1000 scholarship.
The Blair High School senior received the 2024 Every Student Succeeding Award “for overcoming the odds and achieving success” from the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). Yasdeli came to Blair as an 8th grader in 2019. She found it difficult to adapt at first and as her family faced personal and financial challenges, the exceptional student remained engaged in school while working at a job to help support her family.
Yasdeli is a student in the PUSD International Academy at Blair, which supports students in grades six through 12 who have been in the United States twelve months or less. The last time PUSD had a winner for this particular award was twenty years ago.
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Board organizational meeting
At its annual organizational meeting on December 11, 2023, the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Board of Education named Kimberly Kenne as its president for the 2024 calendar year. Jennifer Hall Lee will serve as vice president and Tina Fredericks as clerk. Board officers serve one-year terms in these roles.
[This article has been updated to include results of organizational meeting. Dec. 12, 2:40 pm]
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