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EDUCATION AND YOUTH 

Mountain View News Saturday, June 21, 2025

A LETTER FROM THE PUSD 

SUPERINTENDENT

 Dear PUSD Community,

 

Earlier today, we were made aware of community 
reports about ICE activity near our schools. We 
immediately reached out to the City of Pasadena 
and their police department is closely mon-itoring 
the situation, including at and around school 
sites.

 

Our team continues to be present at school sites 
and found them calm, secure, and operating 
smoothly. All students and employees are safe. 
Our front office teams are trained and ready to 
follow established safety procedures, and we’ve 
assigned additional staff to support several campuses 
throughout the day and in the coming days.

 

We also reached out to all of our summer programs, 
including community partners on our 
cam-puses, to reinforce safety protocols. Food 
distribution services at school sites remain available, 
and after-school programs are continuing as 
scheduled.

 

As a friendly reminder to families, if someone 
other than you or your emergency contact needs 
to pick up your child(ren) from school, please 
contact the school. Schools will ask for their 
identi-fication for security purposes. Please also 
ensure that your emergency contacts are updated.

 

PUSD is committed to keeping schools safe. 
Law enforcement officials are not permitted on 
campus without a lawful court order, and we do 
not collect or share information about the immi-
gration status of students or families.

 

We encourage our families to visit pusd.us/immigrationresources 
for helpful information and 
full support.

 

Thank you for your continued trust and 
partnership.

 

Sincerely,

 

Elizabeth Blanco, Ed.D.

Superintendent

SCHOOL DIRECTORY

Alverno Heights Academy

200 N. Michillinda Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-3463 

Head of School: Joanne Harabedian

E-mail address: jharabedian@alvernoheights.org

Arcadia Christian School

1900 S. Santa Anita Avenue Arcadia, CA 91006

Preschool - TK - 8th Grade

626-574-8229/626-574-0805

Email:inquiry@acslions.com

Principal: Cindy Harmon

website: www.acslions.com

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

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary School

Ms. Rose Navarro, Principal

2660 East Orange Grove Blvd.

Pasadena, Ca 91107

626-793-2089

https://school.abvmpasadena.org/

Barnhart School

240 W. Colorado Blvd Arcadia, Ca. 91007

(626) 446-5588 

Head of School: Tonya Beilstein

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: Jonathon Hawes

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 Ernest Siy

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: Dr. Eric Barba

website: http://phs.pusd.us

St. Rita Catholic School

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

Principal: Jon McMaster (626) 355-6114 

mcmaster@st-ritaschool.org

Website: www.st-ritaschool.org

Sierra Madre Elementary School

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

(626) 355-1428 

Principal: Dr. Jodi Marchesso

E-mail address: marchesso.jodi@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

STUDY ABROAD GIVES CITRUS COLLEGE STUDENTS 
ONCE IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY

By Cheryl Alexander, Ed.D.

Citrus College Governing Board 
Member

When Citrus College student 
Terra James looks back on the 
events leading up to her study 
abroad experience in Prague, it 
feels as if everything was meant 
to be.

First, there was the passport. 
Terra only had it because her 
family was supposed to go on 
a trip, which ended up not 
happening.

And then there was the moment 
when she mentioned studying 
abroad to her mother. After Terra 
expressed interest, her mother 
told her about a family friend 
who had studied in Prague. 
Soon after, Terra’s mother connected 
the two.

“It felt like such a crazy coincidence 
or a sign,” Terra, a Duarte 
resident, said. “From there, 
I heard only good things about 
Prague. This was when I became 
dead set on joining the 
program.”

Terra is one of several dozen 
Citrus College students who 
have recently participated in 
study abroad experiences to 
destinations including Prague, 
Czechia; Osaka, Japan; Seville, 
Spain; Paris, France; London, 
England; and Barcelona, Spain.

To be eligible for the program, 
students must have completed at 
least 12 units and have a minimum 
cumulative GPA of 2.5. 
First-semester college students 
may also qualify. Additionally, 
all applicants must be at least 18 
by the program’s start date.

In addition to being able to see 
new parts of the world, study 
abroad program participants 
like Terra also earn transferable 
college credits while overseas. 
To help pay for the experience, 
students often fundraise and apply 
for scholarship awards.

While in Prague in summer 
2024, Terra took a sociology 
course with Citrus College instructor 
Dr. Gailynn White.

“We got to speak to locals face-
to-face and learn about their 
lives and perspectives on major 
events within the country,” Terra 
said. “It was very hands-on and 
helped us to learn so much more 
about Czechia and its citizens.”

Beyond shaping her view of the 
world, the experience also led to 
some personal growth for Terra.

“I had always been scared to 
travel or to be outside of my 
comfort zone,” she said. “Being 
with others from home, even 
though I didn’t know them, 
helped a lot. It opened my eyes 
to traveling more in the future, 
which is something I had truly 
never thought of before.”

Throughout her time in Europe, 
Terra also made new friends 
and got to experience some of 
the basics of life, like grocery 
shopping. The experience was 
the first time she had ever lived 
away from home.

“The student housing situation 
was far better than I could’ve 
hoped for,” she said. “With the 
shared amenities, it helped me 
get used to living with my classmates, 
and I got to know them 
better.”

Looking to the future, Terra 
hopes to attend Cal Poly Pomona 
and ultimately earn an MBA 
in marketing. She also wants to 
travel internationally again in 
the next two years.

As the Citrus Community College 
District Board of Trustees 
representative for Duarte and 
portions of Azusa, Monrovia, 
Arcadia, Covina and Irwindale, 
I am amazed by the incredible 
study abroad opportunities afforded 
to our students. For those 
looking for an affordable education 
with outstanding international 
study opportunities, I encourage 
you to consider Citrus 
College. To learn more about 
study abroad, visit www.citruscollege.
edu/studyabroad.

After graduating from Citrus 
College in the next year, Terra 
James plans to transfer to Cal 
Poly Pomona and earn an MBA 
in marketing.


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