Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 31, 2020

9

EDUCATION AND YOUTH

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 31, 2020 

ARCADIA UNIFIED IN THE TOP 1% OF BEST 
SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN AMERICA

ARCADIA-- Arcadia Unified School District remains a leader in public education in the United 
States, ranking in the top 1%, of the over 10,700 school districts across the nation, according 
to Niche. 

Niche, an influential school and neighborhood review website, recently released its 2021 Best 
School Districts rankings, and Arcadia Unified has made the grade, achieving an over-all A+ 
grade district-wide. Segmenting its rankings into national, state, and local catego-ries, Arcadia 
Unified commands a top spot on each Niche list.

Arcadia Unified School District Niche Distinctions:

• Top 1% Best School Districts in America

• Top 8 Best School Districts in California

• Top 3 Best School Districts in Los Angeles

“Over the past 14 years of serving the Arcadia Unified School District, it’s never been lost on 
me how truly special a place Arcadia Unified is,” said Arcadia Unified Superintendent Dr. David 
Vannasdall. “This prestigious recognition is the direct result of each member of our team 
going above and beyond in countless ways each day to support our students and fami-lies.”

In addition to the recognition above, Niche noted Arcadia Unified as being in the top 1% of 
the Best Places to Teach in the nation, California, and the Los Angeles area. Arcadia Unified 
also is in Niche’s top five for Districts with the Best Teachers in Los Angeles.

Each of Arcadia Unified’s schools has also individually secured top Niche nods for being the 
best schools in Los Angeles. Arcadia Unified elementary schools (Baldwin Stocker, Camino 
Grove, Highland Oaks, Holly Avenue, Hugo Reid, and Longley Way) landed in the top 2 percent 
of the over 2,200 public elementary schools in Los Angeles. All three of Arcadia Unified’s 
middle schools (Dana, Foothills, and First Avenue) rank in the top 2 percent of Los Angeles. 
The district’s comprehensive high school, Arcadia High School, also remains a leader among 
its over 400 L.A. public high school peers, making Niche’s top 10 Best Public High Schools in 
Los Angeles list. 

On top of receiving top marks from Niche, Arcadia Unified has continued to build on its commitment 
to educating the “whole child” by providing support not only for academics but also 
for social and emotional development and lifelong leadership skills. Since the 2018-19 school 
year, and though not a mandated requirement for local public school districts, Arca-dia Unified 
has had at least one full-time school counselor at each of its schools in its dedi-cation to 
student mental health and wellness. Likewise, the district also offers character education programs, 
such as “The Leader in Me” for students in TK-8 grade, and has adopted “restorative 
practices,” which are techniques geared towards building strong, trust-ing relationships and 
community in classrooms and schools. This school year, Arcadia High has also implemented 
a virtual Wellness Center, which has a full-time counselor solely dedicated to fostering mental 
health and wellness needs.

How does Niche arrive at its rankings? According to its website, Niche undergoes a rigorous 
analysis of key statistics and data from thousands of schools, which includes information from 
the U.S. Department of Education and millions of reviews from students and parents. Ranking 
factors also include state test scores, student-teacher ratio, student diversity, teacher quality, 
grade school ratings, and the overall quality of the school district. For more information on 
the Niche rankings, visit niche.com, for more information about the Arcadia Unified School 
District, visit ausd.net.

SCHOOL DIRECTORY


Alverno Heights Academy

200 N. Michillinda Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626)355-3463 Head of School: Julia V. Fanara

E-mail address: jfanara@alvernoheights.org

Arcadia High School

180 Campus Drive Arcadia, CA 91007

Phone: (626) 821-8370, Principal: Brent Forsee

bforsee@ausd.net

Arroyo Pacific Academy

41 W. Santa Clara St. Arcadia, Ca, 

(626)294-0661 Principal: Phil Clarke

E-mail address: pclarke@arroyopacific.org

Barnhart School

240 W. Colorado Blvd Arcadia, Ca. 91007

(626)446-5588

Head of School: Ethan Williamson

Kindergarten - 8th grade

website: www.barnhartschool.org

Bethany Christian School

93 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626)355-3527

Preschool-TK-8th Grade

Principal: Dr. William Walner

website: www. bcslions.org

Clairbourn School

8400 Huntington Drive

San Gabriel, CA 91775

Phone: 626-286-3108 ext. 172

FAX: 626-286-1528

E-mail: jhawes@clairbourn.org

Foothill Oaks Academy

822 E. Bradbourne Ave., Duarte, CA 91010

(626)301-9809

Principal: Nancy Lopez

www.foothilloaksacademy.org

office@foothilloaksacademy.org

Frostig School

971 N. Altadena Drive Pasadena, CA 91107

(626)791-1255

Head of School: Jenny Janetzke

Email: jenny@frostig.org

The Gooden School

192 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626)355-2410

Head of School, Jo-Anne Woolner

website: www.goodenschool.org

High Point Academy

1720 Kinneloa Canyon Road 

Pasadena, Ca. 91107 

Head of School: Gary Stern 626-798-8989

website: www.highpointacademy.org

La Salle College Preparatory

3880 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626)351-8951 website: www.lasallehs.org

Principal Mrs. Courtney Kassakhian

Monrovia High School

325 East Huntington Drive, Monrovia, CA 91016 

(626) 471-2800 Principal Darvin Jackson

Email: schools@monrovia.k12.ca.us

Odyssey Charter School

725 W. Altadena Dr. Altadena, Ca. 91001

(626)229-0993 Head of School: Lauren O’Neill

website: www.odysseycharterschool.org

Pasadena High School

2925 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626)396-5880 Principal: Roberto Hernandez

website: http://phs.pusd.us

St. Rita Catholic School

322 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

Principal: Adela Solis (626) 355-6114 

solis@st-ritaschool.org

Website: www.st-ritaschool.org

Sierra Madre Elementary School

141 W. Highland Ave, Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626)355-1428 Principal: Lindsay LUIS

E-mail address: LUIS.lindsay@pusd.us

Sierra Madre Middle School 

160 N. Canon Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626)836-2947 Principal: Garrett Newsom

E-mail address: newsom.garrett@pusd.us

Walden School

74 S San Gabriel Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91107 (626) 792-6166 

www.waldenschool.net

Weizmann Day School

1434 N. Altadena Dr. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626)797-0204

Lisa Feldman: Head of School

Wilson Middle School

300 S. Madre St. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626)449-7390 Principal: Ruth Esseln

E-mail address: resseln@pusd.us

Pasadena Unified School District

351 S. Hudson Ave., Pasadena, Ca. 91109

(626)396-3600 Website: www.pusd@pusd.us

Arcadia Unified School District

234 Campus Dr., Arcadia, Ca. 91007

(626)821-8300 Website: www.ausd.net

Monrovia Unified School District

325 E. Huntington Dr., Monrovia, Ca. 91016

(626)471-2000

Website: www.monroviaschools.net

Duarte Unified School District

1620 Huntington Dr., Duarte, Ca. 91010

(626)599-5000

Website: www.duarte.k12.ca.us

Arcadia Christian School

1900 S. Santa Anita Avenue Arcadia, CA 91006

Preschool - and TK - 8th Grade

626-574-8229/626-574-0805

Email: inquiry@acslions.com

Principal: Cindy Harmon

website: www.acslions.com

BETHANY CHRISTIAN SCHOOLPRESCHOOLopen to ages 2-5 years oldFree Potty Training!
STUDENT FOCUSED CHRIST CENTEREDPreschoolwww.bcslions.org626-355-352793 N. Baldwin AvenueSierra Madre, CA 91024What Makes Bethany Different?
Now Enrolling!
Low Teacher/Child ratio to ensure each child 
receives individual attention and care!
Creative environment to play, learn, and make 
friends!
Discovering God's loving truth through joyful 
worship and Bible themes!
Multi-Sensory, engaging learning 
activities and motor development!
Teachers are qualified experts in child 
development!
Flexible hourly and weekly schedules!
SM PLAYHOUSE

FREE EVENT! VIRTUAL OFF THE PAGE PRESENTS THE 

REALISTIC JONESES ON NOVEMBER 16 AND NOVEMBER 24



 Virtual Off the Page, the series of virtual staged readings presented online by Sierra Madre 
Playhouse, next presents streamed performances of The Realistic Joneses by Will Eno. Because 
of the pandemic, we cannot present this event to a live audience inside the Playhouse, but you 
will be able to access it online via the streaming service of ShowTix4U on Monday, November 
16, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. PST and on Tuesday, November 24 at 4:00 p.m. PST. Running time is approximately 
1 hour 50 minutes. This event is FREE, but dona-tions will be gratefully accepted.



HOW TO REGISTER: Use this link: https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/42128

Upon registration, you’ll be sent a link with which to access the show at the appointed time. Reservations 
are limited, so please reserve early to avoid disappointment.

If you need assistance, contact info@sierramdreplayhouse.org

BONUS! Be sure to join us for a live post-show talkback with director Scott Alan Smith and 
his cast, actors Leandro Cano, Cherish Monique Duke, Christian Lebano and Elizabeth Sampson. 
This will be immediately following the second show, on Tuesday, November 24 at 6:00 p.m. 
PST, as a Zoom webinar, To register for the talkback, go to https://ci.ovationtix.com/35040/
production/1033725



HOW TO DONATE: You can support Sierra Madre Playhouse, a non-profit arts organiza-tion, 
with your voluntary donation at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35040/store/donations



ABOUT THE SHOW:

 In The Realistic Joneses, we meet Bob and Jennifer and their new neighbors, John and Pony, two suburban couples who 
have even more in common than their identical homes and their shared last names. As their relationships begin to irrevocably 
intertwine, the Joneses must decide between their idyllic fantasies and their imperfect realities. This contemporary comedy 
explores how our joys and sorrows - and how we choose to face them - can come to define our lives.



"Plays as funny and moving, as wonderful and weird as The Realistic Joneses, by Will Eno, do not appear often on Broadway. 
Or ever, really." - The New York Times



 Playwright Will Eno is the author of twenty produced and published plays. He won the Drama Desk Award for The 
Realistic Joneses and The Open House. His play Thom Pain (Based on Nothing) was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. The 
Realistic Joneses premiered on Broadway in 2014.



 Director Scott Alan Smith is the Associate Artistic Director of The Road Theatre. His directing credits include Melissa 
Arctic, Sovereign Body, That Good Night, Lady, New York Mets, So Nice to See You and The Petoskey Stones. He is also an 
actor. He received an MFA from the American Conservatory Theatre. For the Off the Page series, he previously di-rected 
Dinner with Friends.



 Production Stage Manager and Editor: Jeanne Valleroy.



 The Virtual Off the Page series is produced by Sierra Madre Playhouse Artistic Di-rector Christian Lebano and Beryl 
Tsang.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com