Friendly Hills Elementary celebrated as 2025 California Distinguished School
On Tuesday (9/2), the Morongo Unified School District (MUSD) Board of Trustees held their first meeting of the 2025-26 school year at Joshua Tree Elementary.
The meeting began with the Board congratulating Friendly Hills Elementary’s recent achievement as a 2025 California Distinguished School, with a special Certificate of Appreciation to Friendly Hills Principal Randy Eigner. Established by the California Department of Education, the California Distinguished School Award honors schools in the state that demonstrate exemplary achievements.
Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Stacy Smalling introduced two new members of staff to the Board: Director of Professional Learning, Instruction, and Enrichment Support Marcella Zamudio, and new Director of Facilities, Maintenance, and Operations Mike Ogdahl. Smalling also reported an improvement of MUSD’s challenges with hiring personnel, citing more innovative advertising and hiring fairs, the latter which hired 15 people from each fair. In total, MUSD was able to hire 51 new teachers, starting the year off fully staffed in certificated positions.
Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Dr. Gracie Gutierrez reported a successful Summer Meal Program for the district, with the Nutritional Services Department serving nearly 229,000 meals across their summer distribution sites.
Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Amy Woods gave a report on last year’s AP scores, showing a steady improvement in the last three years: in 2023, a 39% passing rate to this year at 54%.
Assistant Superintendent of Business Services David Daniels brought more good news: last January’s projection for enrollment was 7142 students, and with what Daniels called “an explosion of enrollment” over the summer, that number came to a total of 7332 students, up 190 students.
