Last night, the Morongo Unified School District Board of Trustees held their regular 6PM meeting at Joshua Tree Elementary, following a special MUSD/CMC joint meeting at 4 PM.
S.E. Davis is recipient of CMC’s 2024 Greenleaf Scholarship, recognized at the CMC/MUSD joint meeting. The Greenleaf Scholarship is a full-ride scholarship that covers tuition, fees, and living expenses for students during their two years at Copper Mountain College, and then through their transfer to a four-year university and completion of their bachelor’s degree.
Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Amy Woods gave updates on early college and dual enrollment for MUSD seniors going into CMC, both which have seen substantial growth. Enrollment and Outreach Counselor Chloe Letson-Wahlberg and Vice President of Student Services Jane Kwon updated attendees on the RISE Program, which invests in students by bringing a higher quality of education and comprehensive matriculation services for high school seniors, while creating partnership and communication between districts. The Rise Program currently has a registration conversion percentage of 86%.
For the regular 6 PM MUSD meeting, Woods continued the night’s high volume of recognition. Spotlights included culinary student teams from Yucca Valley High and 29 Palms High who competed in the first annual “Chopped” competition in Rialto on March 6th. Twentynine Palms High won third place overall for main dish and Yucca Valley High won first place for best main dish, winning them both a trophy from “Chopped.”
Next, Valedictorians and Salutatorians from Yucca Valley High and Twentynine Palms High were recognized, before the most unexpected recognition of the night: Onaga Elementary third grader Penelope “Penny” Lopez wrote a book called Wolf Claw and is now a “published author” thanks to the assistance of Amy Woods and various MUSD staff, who pressed the book in the offices. Lopez spent the next five minutes reading the book to the Board and attendees to a rousing applause. Those curious about this third-grade author can now find a copy of Wolf Claw in the Onaga Elementary Library.
During Representative Reports, Classified Representative Mary Dean thanked the Board for MUSD’s negotiations securing more hours for Classified staff, stating that “while there’s still a long way to go, it’s a step in the right direction.”
