Claremont School News
If there’s one Claremont High Schooler who’s having one heck of a start to their senior year, it’s Joy Cheng. The student-athlete recently learned she had won a full-ride scholarship to Princeton University, adding to this year’s successes as captain of CHS’s cross-country team, which recently won Palomares League and CIF-Southern Section titles. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo
Here are this weekend’s road closures due to Claremont Colleges commencements.
Cal Poly Pomona commencements take place daily beginning Friday, May 16 through Sunday, May 18, with ceremonies at 8 a.m., noon, 4 and 7:30 p.m., except for May 16 when the third ceremony begins at 3 p.m.
Katharine Laidlaw, a strategist and Emmy-winning producer, started Monday as Pomona College’s chief communications officer.
Pomona College students Josh Crowley, Daniel Choi, Annie Xu, Emma Grace Howlett, Julia Aceron, Fox Kloske, Sarah Ziff, and Jun Kwon, who served Claremont in the Sagehen Civic Scholars Internship Program, were recognized by Claremont Mayor Corey Calaycay at the April 22 City Council meeting.
Claremont Colleges 2025 commencement ceremonies will take place Saturday and Sunday May 17 and 18. In this photo an enthusiastic graduate celebrates at Claremont McKenna College’s May 11, 2024 commencement ceremony. Photo/courtesy of CMC
Claremont Unified School District’s Board of Education voted unanimously May 1 to approve the hiring of Charles Boulden as the next principal of Vista Del Valle Elementary School. His first day on the job will be July 1. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo
Declining enrollment is nothing new for Claremont Unified School District: it has been on the wane for the past seven years, falling 12% over that period, from 7,075 students in 2018 to 6,261 in 2024. All surrounding districts have experienced the same problem, some more than others. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo
Aaron Cayer, assistant professor of architecture at Cal Poly Pomona, was named among 26 Carnegie Corporation of New York’s 2025 Andrew Carnegie Fellows on April 16. Each recipient received a stipend of $200,000 to research political polarization, according to a news release at carnegie.org.
The CUSD Board heard the results of a survey of students, staff, and parents on their preferences on a proposed start date shift from the last Wednesday in August to mid-August at its April 17 meeting. Of the 3,706 responses, 1,634 were in support of the shift, 1,464 were not, and 608 had no preference. Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Julie Olesniewicz, pictured, also delivered an update to the district’s 2024-27 local control accountability plan. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo
The music building celebration took place on Thursday, April 17, with an official ribbon cutting ceremony that included CHS senior and Chamber Singer Bella Sacks, cutting the ribbon, surrounded by enthusiastic Claremont Unified School District leadership and supporters. Courier photo/Peter Weinberger
Pomona College’s Alumni Association Board will honor six alumni for their professional achievements and service to the college during alumni weekend, Thursday, May 1 through Sunday, May 4.
The heads of three local sports organizations, Claremont American Youth Soccer Organization, Claremont Stars Soccer Club, and Claremont Fast Pitch Softball, say they’ve been raising concerns about the state of the fields at some heavily used city parks for at least three years, but that little has been done to address them.
The U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce and its higher education subcommittee sent Pomona College a letter March 27 requesting information about “antisemitic incidents” on campus since Oct. 7, 2023; many in the 5C community remain uncertain about Pomona’s plans to respond and cooperate with the investigation.
Claremont High School’s girls varsity 800-meter sprint medley relay team of Yaroslava Willard, Annika Graham-Scanlon, Zenani Guannu, and Zylah Araujo set a new school record at the 22nd annual California Relays, finishing first at 1:50.05 at the March 14-15 meet at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach.
Webb Schools students brought home top honors at the recent 75th annual Los Angeles County Science and Engineering Fair at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
The CUSD Board of Education heard a budget update at its March 20 meeting projecting it would be operating at a deficit for the next three years. “The primary reason for this deficit is declining enrollment, which results in a loss of Average Daily Attendance funding — our main source of revenue,” said CUSD spokesperson Elaine Kong. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo