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California and Mexico sign agreement to open new border | Page B1
Weather: 100o/62o Volume III | Issue XXVI
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REAL ESTATE | Page C2
Thursday, July 1 - 7, 2021
www.HSJChronicle.com |
A FAITH
B POLITICS
Clergy Corner And Justice for All
California advances decriminalizing psychedelic substances
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NATIONAL | Page D1
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D NATIONAL
White House mounts full-court press on infrastructure deal
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HEMET, CA.
Local Educators Receive $100 CalRTA Grants
Grant winners said they will use funds to benefit their classrooms SUE BREYER | CALRTA DIVISION 33 VICE PRESIDENT
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crolling through Facebook posts and reading those pesky forwarded emails that fill up our Inbox has paid off for three local educators in the Hemet Unified School District. Division 33 of the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA) held its final teacher grant drawing on Tuesday, June 1st during their last membership meeting before breaking for the summer, with retired NBC4 newscaster, Fritz Coleman, randomly drawing the names of win-
ners. The three $100 grant recipients were Natasha Dobbins from Dartmouth Middle School, Frank Urquiza from West Valley High School, and Erin Thompson from Whittier Elementary School. Natasha Dobbins teaches 7th and 8th grade AVID at Dartmouth Middle School and has worked with the AVID program for over ten years. She learned about CalRTA’s $100 Teacher Grant program from Facebook, and from long-time Dartmouth colleague, Paul Kobayashi, who received the grant in February. Dobbins says, “I can’t wait to use the funds for AVID
supplies – 2 ring binders, pencil pouches with supplies such as pencils, pens, highlighters, Expo markers and erasers.” West VaIley High School math and AVID teacher, Frank Urquiza, heard about the Teacher Grant program from a CalRTA email he received at work forwarded to him by school principal, Shannyn Cahoon. Urquiza says he plans on “using this generous grant to purchase an online math program that will be used by my students for practice, mastery, and remediation of current and past content during this coming school year. With the recent learning effects
With the recent learning effects due to COVID-19, I know my student will appreciate this resource to help them in the educational endeavors.” FRANK URQUIZA
WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL MATH TEACHER
WINNER: Natasha Dobbins
WINNER: Frank Urquiza West Val-
WINNER: Erin Thompson Whittier
due to COVID-19, I know my student will appreciate this resource to help them in the educational endeavors.” Erin Thompson, an Education Specialist at Whittier Elementary School, teaches 4th and 5th grade Special Education to students with emotional disabilities. Thompson says, “I plan to purchase books – a class set (10 each) -- of a few read
alouds. I will also be purchasing SEL materials as I teach students with Emotional Disabilities. I would like a 3D puzzle of the earth or a solar system model kit or Geography Puzzles.” CalRTA Division 33 will resume its $100 Teacher Grant drawings at their first membership meeting in October. Applications will open in early September, with emails sent to the
principals of all elementary, middle and high schools in Hemet, San Jacinto and the surrounding areas. Teacher Grant announcements and applications can also be accessed from Division 33’s Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/calrtadivision33 and from their Division website https:// div33.calrta.org/scholarships-and-grants/.
Dartmouth Middle School. | Photo Courtesy of CalRTA Division 33.
ley High School. | Photo Courtesy of CalRTA Division 33.
Elementary School. | Photo Courtesy of CalRTA Division 33.
SAN JACINTO, CA.
Soboba Youth Learn Financial Literacy SOBOBA BAND OF LUISEÑO INDIANS | CONTRIBUTED
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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID HEMET, CA PERMIT NO. 69 92543-9998
bout a dozen dedicated young people recently completed a five-part course in Financial Literacy 101 taught by Soboba Tribal Administration’s Financial Analyst Lenell Carter. The most important lesson they learned is that you are never too young to learn about how to create a healthy financial future. “My financial literacy skillset was noted during my interview process over two years ago but due to COVID the class was delayed,” Carter said. “Tribal Council decided that as we were coming out of the
IYANA BRIONES: She was one of about a dozen core group of participants who attended each class of the five-part Financial Literacy 101 program at Soboba. | Photo courtesy of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
pandemic, we would be able to move forward with the course.” Carter brought a unique perspective to his presen-
tations, having experience teaching similar financial literacy classes for other Southern California tribes. “I feel good about the material and I want the participants to feel my passion about this subject matter,” Carter said. “I tell them my story and let them know that ‘I didn’t know what I didn’t know’ about the topic of personal finances even after graduating with an accounting background. I was once like them and needed to find the resources to help me navigate these topics, alone.” Each participant received a “Building Native Communities, Financial Skills for Families” work-
See SOBOBA on page C3
TECHNOLOGY: Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC) is among 12 colleges nationwide to be selected by the Urban Institute’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) CoLab to participate in the College Community of Practice. MSJC’s efforts will focus on its Water Technology program. MSJC Water Technology major Francisco Aguirre (pictured) earned a full-time job as a Water Reclamations Operator in Training at Eastern Municipal Water District in Perris. | Photo Courtesy of Mt. San Jacinto College.
SAN JACINTO, CA.
MSJC Selected to Participate in Urban Institute’s CTE CoLab
MORENO VALLEY, CA.
MSJC | CONTRIBUTED
Family Service Association’s Board Completes Well-Orchestrated Leadership Transition To Ensure Robust Services for the Community
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FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION | CONTRIBUTED
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n June 29th, Family Service Association’s Board of Directors announced the completion of a planned leadership transition. Judith Wood, a well-respected early childhood education leader and Family Service Association executive will retire on June 30, 2021. Cheryl-Marie Hansberger, a business leader and previous Chief of Staff for former Mayor Rusty Bailey will assume the Chief Executive Officer position on July 1, 2021. Judith’s long and successful career with FSA started in January 2010 when she joined the agency as the
Vice President of Child Development and then Chief Operating Officer. In recognition of Judith’s exceptional leadership skills, in 2019 she was promoted to Chief Executive Officer for the agency. During the span of her career, Judith has greatly impacted children and families in our region through forty years of impressive service at FSA, University of California, Riverside and Temple Beth El.Tra “Since arriving at Family Service Association, Judith created and maintained the premier child develop-
See TRANSITION on page A4
t. San Jacinto College (MSJC) is among 12 colleges nationwide to be selected by the Urban Institute’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) CoLab to participate in its College Community of Practice. MSJC’s efforts will focus on its Water Technology program, which helps students earn a degree and certificate that can lead to in-demand careers at water districts in the region. The college will receive a $30,000 grant to support its participation for two years. The Urban Institute’s CTE CoLab aims to reduce inequities in academic and career outcomes for students of color — especially students who are Black, Latinx or Indigenous — enrolled in online postsecondary Career Education programs. As Career Education programs increasingly move online, the CTE Co-
Lab is partnering with 12 community and technical colleges over two years to ensure shifting coursework partially or fully online results in expanded access and strong outcomes for students of color. “CTE programs play an important role in preparing students for good jobs. Even prior to the pandemic, there was evidence of equity gaps for students of color,” said Shayne Spaulding, a senior fellow in the Income and Benefits Policy Center at the Washington D.C.-based Urban Institute. “As so many programs have been forced online, this exciting new collaboration is in a unique position to support colleges in making their programs more inclusive and accessible, ultimately leading to higher success for students,” Spaulding said. MSJC’s Water Technology program helps students find jobs and internships at regional water agencies. More than 11,000 water
and wastewater plant operators are employed in California, and many of them are nearing retirement age. The average annual wage statewide is nearly $70,000, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. “You could earn a certificate in a little more than a year and go out and find a good-paying job with great benefits in a field that is always going to be in demand,” said MSJC Water Technology Instructor Melita Caldwell-Betties, who is a member of the MSJC team working with the CTE CoLab. With support from the Los Angeles-based Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) Foundation, the CTE CoLab is a collaboration led by the Urban Institute in partnership with five national organizations: World Education, Inc.; the National Council for Workforce Education; the Office of
See MSJC on page B3