EL MONTE – More than 60 migrant students served by the El Monte City Consortium mastered coding skills, 3-D design and virtual reality programming through summer programs in June and July.
The consortium serves about 330 children and youths up to age 22 in the Migrant Education Program, including about 160 students at El Monte City School District. Other students hail from Rosemead School District, Alhambra School District, Garvey School District and El Monte Union High School District.
“Our summer programs are a key element of our instructional approach,” said Eliza Blanco, Migrant Education Program coordinator. “These students are among those who need the most support and guidance. Summer programs help keep them academically engaged and ready for the start of the new school year.”
Sixty students learned 3-D design and how to code their own video games through a virtual summer program that ran June 15 to July 8. Two sets of courses served students in grades one through three and four through eight. Students attended 1.5-hour online classes on Mondays and Wednesdays.
In addition, six students joined others from consortium schools for the first-ever virtual summer camps offered by Cal Poly Pomona and the Los Angeles County Office of Education in June.
The camps taught students to create their own virtual reality programs, with instruction ranging from math concepts to storyboarding. El Monte City School District participants included: Dereck Maya Cuenca, sixth grade; Melody Ayala, fifth grade; Diego Garcia, seventh grade; Diana Garcia, seventh grade; Miguel Garcia, fifth grade, and Janeline Becerra Vazquez, fifth grade
The consortium also held a parent education program in collaboration with Disciplina Positiva, a group that teaches parents how to support their children’s education and personal growth. Six Zoom sessions touched on how to create strong learning routines, alleviate stress and understand depression.
Blanco also thanked her three members of the El Monte City School District Parent Advisory Committee for their support throughout the year. The parents – Maria Zuniga, Inez Abundez and Rosa Valentin – each completed a two-year term on the group.
El Monte City School District Parent Advisory Committee members Maria Zuniga, Inez Abundez and Rosa Valentin received plaques and cupcakes in recognition of completing their two-year terms.