Claremont School News

Artist Gustavo Alberto Garcia Vaca works with Dean Magallanes, 11, and Katie Offill Jackson, 12, as the students of Jacque McElvy’s sixth grade class put finishing touches on their movie recently at Mountain View Elementary School. The students shot the film acted in it and did all of the post production. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff  

“Local girl makes good” doesn’t quite do justice to Victoria Schein. It’s accurate, but the truth is Ms. Schein, 23, is changing the world. The 2012 Claremont High School graduate is an Innovation Coordinator at Ford Motor Company, where she has filed nine patents during her short time with the Dearborn, Michigan corporation. She started […]

For the first time in 33 years, Claremont High School Theater Director Krista Elhai has had to cancel a performance. People who purchased tickets to see Xanadu this Saturday were informed Wednesday the night’s production was a no-go because of a major logistical problem. As part of the high school’s solar installation project, the electricity […]

A light rain fell February 3 as members of the Oakmont Outdoor School community gathered for a touching memorial service. It was not a student or staff member being mourned but instead a towering oak tree that had served as a centerpiece of the campus for decades. The previous Monday, the district informed Oakmont Principal […]

Carly Sanden, as Kira, and Riley Polanski, as Sonny, rehearse a scen from the play Xanadu Tuesday night at Claremont High School. CHS Theatre will present the light comedy musical this Friday and Saturday as well as next Thursday, Friday and Saturday. COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff

Trevor Schwartz—a newly-retired representative to the school board—is a continuation high school student, and a Claremont Unified School District success story. The two are far from mutually exclusive, but Trevor didn’t know that when—after an illness left him short of credits—he landed at San Antonio High School the second semester of his sophomore year.  “My […]

Author Mark Twain is known for his gift with dialects. A dialect is a regional way of speaking. For instance, in our part of the country, we usually ask for a soda or, maybe, for our favorite soft drink by name: “I’ll have a Coke.” In much of the rest of the country, soda is […]

In 2016, much of the COURIER’s education coverage focused on the Claremont Unified School District’s successful attempt to pass a $58 million general obligation bond in the November 8 general election. With 66 percent of local voters giving Measure G the thumbs-up, you could call its passage a slam-dunk. It was, however, by no means […]

Students at Claremont High School filed into the Wolfpack gym on December 1, some grabbing a spot in the bleachers and others sitting on the floor, ready for a lively presentation on a sobering topic. The teens were gathered for a Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Assembly, aimed at helping young people recognize the signs of […]

Chris Holden, an assembly member representing California’s 41st Assembly District, is no longer on the campaign trail, having sealed the deal in November on third two-year term in state office. He is, however, a man of his word. This fall, Sumner Elementary School teacher Joe Tonan—seeking to educate his students about the political process—reached out […]

The latest Claremont High School production tells you a lot about our town. It’s the kind of place where teachers, administrators and school board members—even the superintendent of schools—are willing to join teen actors on stage for a good cause. The result, a moving production of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1938 play Our Town, will […]

Fifth graders at Sumner Elementary School got a taste of the political process on September 27 when Casey C. Higgins, a Republican candidate for the California Assembly, took some time to talk to them. Mr. Higgins is hoping to unseat incumbent Chris Holden. Mr. Holden represents the 41st Assembly District, which is responsible for portions […]

A labor of love makes its debut tomorrow, as the inaugural Claremont Authors Book Faire takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Claremont Public Library. The free event is a showcase, both for the city’s rich literary history and its many authors working today. “We always talk about Claremont as the city […]

Include Erica Tyron on the short list of folks who are “living the dream.” Ms. Tyron, Director of College Radio at Pomona College’s KSPC 88.7 FM, has been on the job since 1992, when she received her diploma from Scripps College.  “When I graduated I essentially lucked out and took over,” Ms. Tyron said. She […]

Melvin Oliver, the new president of Pitzer College and first African-American president of a Claremont College, initially did not want to get into college academia. When he started going to William Penn University in rural Iowa, he initially wanted to be a high school history teacher. But Mr. Oliver took a sociology class during his […]

A group of local teens is working to raise awareness about rules they say unfairly target girls. Their effort was prompted by concerns about changes in the 2016-2017 dress code at Claremont High School. The rules circulated only a few days in advance of the new school year when Principal Brett O’Connor emailed CHS families […]