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School receives funding for the 16th consecutive year

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— LOMA LINDA, CA —- Loma Linda University School of Dentistry was awarded for the 16th consecutive year $298,848 in federal funding by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part F, to provide community-based HIV/AIDS training for dentistry, international dentistry and dental hygiene students. 

“We’re extremely proud of the funding we have received the past 16years,” said Eun-Hwi Euni Cho, DDS, Director of Educational Assessment at the School of Dentistry. “It’s important that we educate our students to look beyond just a patient’s mouth, but treat the whole person, and this Grant provides another training opportunity to do that with our medically-compromised patients.”

According to Cho, who is also the Program Director of the Grant, 20 percent of HIV positive patients don’t even know they have the infection. In fact, 45-50,000 new infections occur every year in the U.S. The funding supports clinical training, oral health services for patients with unmet needs and the development of innovative models in dental care for people living with HIV/AIDS. 

Students are required to participate in eight hours of training over the course of two days. Their studies include take-home case studies, mini-lectures, classroom role play and live patient interviews. 

More than 2,000 dental, hygiene and international students at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry have received this valuable training to treat community patients who are HIV positive. 

“The Loma Linda University School of Dentistry is a world-class learning institution, which is why they have been selected to receive federal funding through the Community Based Dental Program for 16 consecutive years,” said U.S. Congressional Representative Pete Aguilar, who represents California’s 31st Congressional District. “I’m glad that this funding is coming to the Inland Empire, and that it will give our dental students experience working with patients who live with HIV/AIDS while also providing a specialized treatment option for members of our community who deal with these tragic diseases.” 

Patients are currently seen at the SAC Health System – Norton, but next month will transfer to SAC Health System – San Bernardino. According to Cho, patients travel from the Los Angeles, Orange County and Palm Springs areas for treatment. Many of the patients also willingly allow Loma Linda University School of Dentistry students to treat them in the clinic, and work with them in the classroom.

“It’s great to see that our patients understand that we are doing something at the front end to deliver better healthcare, by training future dental professionals,” Cho said. 

Student feedback over the years has shown that their knowledge, skills and attitudes have improved when it comes to helping patients, and according to Cho, has helped to reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS. 

The funding supports the school’s initiatives for the next five years, while once a year the institution will apply as a non-competitor to maintain funding. 

For more information on Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, visit their website online.

Subheadline: Online Tool Allows Families to Look Up Home School

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)——SAN BERNARDINO, CA-The 2018–2019 school year begins Monday, August 6. For many families, that means thinking about how to enroll their child in school. The San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) is making that a little easier by offering elementary school students’ multiple options to enroll.

Students who attended an SBCUSD school during the 2017–2018 school year and are remaining in the District do not need to re-enroll. School records will be transferred to the appropriate grade and school.

For families who are new to the SBCUSD community and need to register their children, the District offers two options beginning Monday, July 23. Families of elementary school students may enroll directly at the child’s home school or they may visit the new Welcoming Resource Center, 781A W. Second Street in San Bernardino. The center is open weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. For more information or for directions, call the Center at (909) 889-7576.

Parents of middle and high school students should register at their child’s home school. Parents can determine their child’s home school by calling Facilities Planning & Development at (909) 388-6100 or by visiting http://apps.schoolsitelocator.com/?districtcode=43985 and entering their home address.

“The Welcoming Resource Center has come from the collaborative efforts of our parents, District staff, and the community. SBCUSD is excited to provide our families an additional option for elementary school enrollment,” said Enrollment & Placement Services Assistant Director Leonard Buckner. “Additional services offered at the Welcoming Resource Center include k through 12 transfers, language assessment, GATE assessment, resources for homeless or foster youth, and family engagement.”

Alize` Ross

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—FONTANA, CA—The San Bernardino Pastors United have been continuing to show support to the Ross family. The family is still recovering from the quadruple shooting on June 21, 2018 in San Bernardino. The home-going services for Alize’ Ross is scheduled for Friday, July 27 at 11 a.m. at Loveland Church located at 17977 Merrill Avenue in Fontana.

Mr. Alfred Ross Jr. and Solomon Johnson survived the attack and will be in attendance. Special arrangements for clergy and dignitaries have been made. Please send any well wishes to McKay’s Mortuary at 16918 Baseline Ave, Fontana, CA 92336. This shooting cries out for justice! Assemblymember Reyes, Congress Pete Aguilar, Mayor Warren, Pastor Gwen Rodgers, Jose Gonzales, Senator Leyva offices have confirmed attendance.

We thank everyone for being a part of this healing process for the family.

On October 19, 1997, a baby named Alize’ D Ross was born in the City of San Bernardino, CA., to his parents Alfred Ross, Jr., and Tamara Harper. Alize’ was a true blessing to his family because at birth Alize’  weighed 2 pounds 3 oz. The doctors didn’t say much due to his size; but God answered prayers and gave Alize’ to the family to have fun and a bond. Alize’ loved traveling and would not allow his grandparents to leave town without him.  He played football growing up in the Snoop Dog Football League as a youth, and also played for San Bernardino High School Football team where he also graduated. Alize’ began working and volunteered at the Family Focus Center for Children. He joined The Way World Outreach Church in November of 2017 where he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. Alize’ was preceded death by his grandmother Patricia Harper, and grandfather Cleveland Banks, and is survived by his father Alfred Ross, Jr., of San Bernardino, CA and mother, Tamara Harper of Fontana, CA; sisters Monnasha Harper, Las Vegas, NV, Jazzmeen Williams, Javiona Tuton, Titianna Ross and Audaiece Ross; brothers, Alfred Ross III, Amaze Ross, Brandon Simms Jr.; grandparents, Alfred Ross Sr., and Darlene Ross, great grandparents, Juana Hatch; Great, grandparents Edward and Almeada Smith, and a host of uncles, aunties, nieces, nephews and friends.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Norton Elementary School sixth-grader Selina Vasquez never imagined she would one day share her love for STEM with Chinese children.

A unique summer exchange program started by Principal Elizabeth Cochrane-Benoit made it possible for Selina and about 60 fellow Norton students to spend two weeks in July immersing seven Chinese students in educational activities related to science, technology, engineering, and math, better known as STEM.

The program, thought to be the first of its kind for foreign exchange students in elementary school, is the culmination of two years of collaboration between Cochrane-Benoit and Guohai “Jack” Tang, the CEO of Chinese high-tech company Keeson Technology Corporation.

“We’re teaching the students to use 3D printers and they’re teaching us how to speak Chinese,” Selina said. “We’re excited that we might end up going to China as exchange students.”

Norton teachers and students are showcasing technology like computer-aided design and 3D printers to show the exchange students how STEM education and applied learning have transformed education at the downtown San Bernardino school.

“They’re so impressed with all that our Norton students are doing in elementary school,” Cochrane-Benoit said. “The technology our students use on a daily basis is the same technology Keeson employees are using.”

Students are also participating in daily field trips, including one to Keeson-owned company Ergomotion in Redlands, which manufactures technology for adjustable beds.

San Bernardino City Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Dale Marsden welcomed the students to Norton by greeting them in their native Mandarin through an online interpretation app.

“I’m pleased to welcome our young people from China,” Marsden said. “I’m so glad that we can participate in this exchange opportunity.”

Subheadline: Exclusive interview with director Eva Tillman and her core staff 

By Naomi K. Bonman

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— In traditional public schools’ certain classes have been getting cut from the curriculum and others have never been offered which leaves students lacking necessary life skills to survive in the “real world”. This is where charter schools come in.  Charter schools not only provide students with the basic K-12 programs, but they also incorporate courses that will help youth become successful beyond their school endeavors.

Savant Preparatory Academy, led by Eva Tillman, Jea Brown-Reese and Jennette Balcazar, leads students to experience an enlighten that will awaken a passion for lifelong learning outside of the core subjects which include English, math and science.

“We recognize that a true experience will help children develop a sense of purpose that will be the driving force of success or the rest of their lives,” Tillman states. “And we intend to give children the space to explore their abilities that will make them great entrepreneurs and leaders.”

At Savant, they make learning enjoyable to the students to where the kids are excited to go to school each morning. I recently interviewed the core team of the academy where I was able to hear first-hand about the excitement and journey of Savant Prep.

Listen to the interview below:

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— SAN BERBARDINO, CA— It’s been a busy summer for the GEAR UP program at Cal State San Bernardino.

It began when nearly 100 high school students from the San Bernardino City Unified School District, who will enter their junior year in August, met at CSUSB to embark on “Explore 23,” a two-week tour of all 23 California State University campuses.

A day later, more of their peers arrived on campus for the nearly four-week GEAR UP University, which kept the second-floor classrooms of the John M. Pfau Library buzzing with activity.

As Summer Steele, director of GEAR UP, sees it, this is part of an effort to make students, and their parents, aware of the opportunities available to them to attend college, and what the students need to do so that they can determine their own future.

GEAR UP — which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs — is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, and the CSUSB program is one of 41 nationwide that received federal grants in 2014.

The Cal State San Bernardino program was awarded $14.2 million over six years, which allows it to work practically year-round with a cohort of about 3,600 students who will graduate from San Bernardino City Unified’s comprehensive high schools in 2020. While some students in this cohort have transferred in and out of the district, GEAR UP essentially has been working with this group of students since they were in the seventh grade.

Steele said GEAR UP has three over-arching goals: increase the academic performance of students in middle school and high school to prepare them for college; increase the high school graduation and enrollment rates into college; and increase the awareness of students, and their parents, of educational options after high school and the financing tools that can help fund them.

And within each of those goals are measurable outcomes to meet annually, such as pre-algebra/algebra pass rates or course failure rates, as GEAR UP site coordinators, academic advisers and tutors, who are assigned to each district high school, work with the students during the school year.

“It’s really by providing a whole lot of services and targeted services,” Steele said.

Emily Sanchez, a student at Indian Springs High School in San Bernardino, said the program helped her to focus on her schoolwork. As a middle schooler, Sanchez didn’t think school was all that important. By the time she was a high school freshman, she said, “it was really bad. My family, they would see my grades and say, ‘Well, just do your best.’ I really didn’t know what my best was.”

Sanchez began working with the GEAR UP academic adviser at her high school who showed her how to study, and how to approach her classroom work and homework. That put her on track, and she says attending college is now a goal.

“It’s like a big family,” said Tyler Scantlebury of GEAR UP. She attends Cajon High School near the CSUSB campus, and once thought she would join the military out of high school. “They don’t treat you like an outsider. Everyone is equal or the same. And when you need help, they help you. There are some programs that say they will help you, but you don’t get the help that you need. But GEAR UP, it does help.”

Both students say the biggest lesson they’ve learned from GEAR UP is responsibility, showing them how to own their successes as well as when they fall a little short.

“The way they talk to you is not in a demeaning way, like, ‘Get your grades up,’ ‘Do this,’ ‘Do that.’ They’re not like that,” Scantlebury said. “They’re comforting — they comfort you to get your grades up and do well. Like, ‘You know this is right, I can’t force you, but I would rather you do this.’ I feel we need more of that, and GEAR UP gives that.”

Steele said she’s seen the growth in students, especially those who have been working with GEAR UP since the seventh grade.

“You see the tremendous growth from last summer to this summer,” she said. “You can just see the growth, not just in attitude toward education, but they’re becoming responsible young adults. There’s a big difference between a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old. I’ve definitely noticed some of those shifts in both the way that they’re thinking and speaking.”

And as for measurable outcomes, Steele points to these as some of the highlights, when compared to the incoming senior Class of 2019:

• The 2020 cohort has seen its course failure rate drop by 4 percent;
• In the A-G requirements — the courses required by students to qualify for admission to a public four-year state university in California — the 2020 cohort has seen an increase of 4 percent; and, Steele said,
• The 2020 cohort has a higher percentage of its students who passed pre-algebra and algebra.

Steele also points out that GEAR UP is not going it alone in the effort. Because the federal grant was a partnership grant, the CSUSB program had to find community partners to match that grant through services and in-kind assistance. In addition to the university and the San Bernardino City Unified School District, joining GEAR UP is the College Board, EduGuide, Elevate Consulting, Elevated Achievement Group, Gorilla Marketing, Nestlé USA, the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE), The Princeton Review, Thinkwise Credit Union, and Tutor.com.

GEAR UP also involves the parents of its students to get them involved through workshops on topics such as financial aid and even bringing them along on college campus tours.

Moreover, just as important, Steele said, the program involves teachers, providing professional development opportunities that give educators more tools to use to help their students achieve. “GEAR UP at its core is about sustainability and systemic change,” she said. “So part of what we have done with GEAR UP is we’ve provided a lot of educator professional development.”

As the Class of 2020 nears its finish line, Steele said she hopes to see funding to get another cohort of students through its high school graduation while preparing them to succeed in college.

Moreover, she said she hopes to see a change in the way students and their parents view a college education.

“I really want to see it become a systemic change so that there is a college-to-career-going culture for all of the students,” Steele said. “It can be attainable for everyone, it can be an option for everyone. It’s just about shifting those mindsets and having those conversations early enough on.”

Visit the California State University, San Bernardino GEAR UP websiteat csusb.edu/gearup for more information.

Also, follow it on social media:

• Facebook, search @CSUSBGU;
• Twitter, @GEARUP_CSUSB; and
• Instagram, @gearup_csusb.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— LOMA LINDA, CA —- Loma Loma Linda University (LLU) has been honored as a 2018 “Great Colleges to Work For,” by the Chronicle of Higher Education, a leading trade publication for colleges and universities, in partnership with Modern Think. 

The program is designed to recognize institutions that have successfully created great workplaces for their employees and to further the research and understanding of the specific factors, dynamics and influences that impact an organization’s culture.

“This honor speaks highly to the dedication and passion our employees and faculty demonstrate each day,” said Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health. “Their commitment to the mission of continuing the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ is truly inspiring for the entire institution.” 

The results were released on July 16 in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s 11th Annual Report on The Academic Workplace and are based on a survey of more than 50,000 people from 253 academic institutions. Of that number, 84 institutions made the list as one of the “Great Colleges to Work For.” 

LLU won honors in seven of the 12 recognition categories, including collaborative governance; confidence in senior leadership; facilities, workspace & security; work/life balance; professional/career-development programs; job satisfaction; and respect and appreciation.

The survey results are based on a two-part assessment process: an institutional audit that captured demographics, benefits, communication, and workplace policies, and a survey administered to faculty, administrators and support staff. Employee feedback was a primary factor in deciding whether an institution received recognition.

Participating institutions receive a survey that measures the extent to which employees are involved or engaged in their organization. Results are categorized by small, medium and large institutions, and LLU was included among the medium-sized institution with 3,000 to 9,999 students.

The institution was also selected for the 2018 Honor Roll distinction, which is awarded to institutions that are recognized most often across all of the recognition categories. 

“Our institution comprises a family of extraordinary people who live to serve and make a difference,” said Ronald Carter, PhD, provost of Loma Linda University. “I am inspired by the teamwork of our faculty and staff, and their commitment to academic excellence, spirituality and service.” 

Great Colleges to Work For is one of the largest and most comprehensive workplace studies in higher education. 

For more information, visit llu.edu or to begin a career with Loma Linda University, search Find a Job.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—RIVERSIDE, CA— Each year, families line up to receive a free backpack. The Adrian Dell and Carmen Roberts Foundation will once again be distributing backpacks at its 17th Annual Free Backpack Giveaway event on Saturday, August 4th from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Castle Park in Riverside.

This back to school event is an opportunity for the Adrian Dell and Carmen Roberts Foundation to provide educational resources to school children ages K-12 in the community for the upcoming school year. This is a free event and early arrival is strongly suggested. Backpacks will be handed out on a first come first serve basis and the school age child must be accompanied with the parent or guardian to receive a backpack. Sponsors include: Assemblymember Jose Medina, Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, Castle Park, Summit College, Riverside City Fire Department, Riverside Police Department, NAACP Riverside, Raceway Ford, Riverside Unified School District, and Cold Cutz.

For more information visit www.adcrfoundation.org.

Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital (LLUCH) recently gained two young benefactors after brother-sister duo Ashton and Alyssa Jean-Marie donated over $1,000 to the LLUCH Birthday Club.

For their birthdays this year, the siblings raised money by asking for donations to the hospital in lieu of birthday gifts. They set a goal to raise $500 but were able to raise $1,005.

“There are things far more important than toys,” said Alyssa, 11, during the check presentation ceremony on July 2. “It makes us happy to help sick kids, and hopefully this will make a difference.”

The Birthday Club was established in 2016 to honor and celebrate extraordinary kids who want to give back to other kids in need after Ulysses Hsu became the hospital’s first junior philanthropist. Funds raised through the club will benefit Vision 2020 – The Campaign for a Whole Tomorrow and the construction of the new Children’s Hospital tower.

Rachelle Bussell, MA, CFRE, senior vice president of advancement at Loma Linda University Health, said she was moved by the generosity of Alyssa and Ashton, 4.

“These kids are teaching the next generation the value of giving back and making a difference for someone else,” Bussell said. “Donating in honor of a birthday to our Children’s Hospital brings valuable dollars to kids and families during some of their most difficult times, and we hope it has made you feel incredibly special birthday. You are special to us.”

Alyssa and Ashton are the youngest members of the Birthday Club and the first siblings to donate.

Alyssa said she learned a lot through the process and would do it again.

“I’ve learned to be more selfless and appreciate what we have.”

To learn more about donating your birthday to LLUCH, visitLLUCH.org/BirthdayClub.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— RIVERSIDE, CA—- The memorial services for NAACP Riverside Branch President and Community Icon, Waudieur “Woodie” Rucker Hughes, will be held on Tuesday, July 24 at 12:30 p.m. at Harvest Christian Church located at 6115 Arlington Avenue in Riverside. There will be a viewing at 11 a.m. followed by the repass immediately after the service.

Woodie peacefully made her transition on the morning of July 13. She served as the Riverside chapter’s branch president for close to 20 years. She also recently retired from the Riverside Unified School District where she served as Child Welfare Attendance Manager/District Coordinator for Homeless Education. 

“Riverside has lost a great one. Woodie was knowledgeable, dependable and steadfast in her commitment to Civil Rights and community organizing. Her leadership and strength will be missed,” said San Bernardino NAACP President A. Majadi.

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers and plants, donations should be made to the Memorial Fund at Altura Credit Union.