About 200 fathers and daughters attended Foster Elementary School’s second annual Father Daughter Dance on Friday, Feb. 3, an evening of dining and dancing at the Julia McNeill Senior Center. The event helped build community connections and strengthen family bonds.

Clad in whimsical costumes and reciting the works of esteemed writers like J.K. Rowling and Shel Silverstein, 29 Margaret Heath Elementary School students entertained classmates during the school’s annual Poetry Festival on Feb. 23. Students from transitional kindergarten to sixth grade recited short poems, including some in Spanish, on topics ranging from video games to Walt Disney characters. The recitals included five students who read their original compositions. The festival, inspired by a retired school teacher, has been a Heath tradition for 20 years.

Baldwin Park Unified’s Board of Education on Tuesday selected Diana E. Dzib, a high school coordinator at Mt. San Antonio College, to fill a vacancy created when board member Blanca Estela Rubio resigned in December 2016 to take a seat in the California Assembly. At Mt. SAC, Dzib also serves as a classified staff senator, assists with accreditation activities and is a member of the Adult Education Block Grant consortia, which includes representatives from Baldwin Park Unified. She has lived in the district for 30 years; her son attended Baldwin Park schools. Dzib holds a juris doctorate and a master of arts in education/curriculum and instruction. She is a former college adjunct instructor and juvenile hall substitute teacher.

H. Vincent Pratt, principal of Baldwin Park Unified’s North Park Continuation High School, has been honored as a January Educator of the Month by the Los Angeles Lakers. Pratt, who has been with Baldwin Park Unified for eight years, is a 20-year educator who focuses on building relationships with students and collaborations with the community to help students achieve their potential. Pratt was nominated by North Park health clerk Jeremiah I. Urista, who noted how the principal greets every student with a handshake each morning. North Park, an alternative school for juniors and seniors who face significant life challenges, has been designated a Model Continuation School by California.

Students from Vineland Elementary School and Sierra Vista High School helped spread holiday cheer at Baldwin Park Unified’s District office on Dec. 16, a week before the start of winter break. Students from Vineland – clad in their pajamas – decorated the District Office lobby Christmas tree while Sierra Vista High’s choir serenaded the District administrators with Christmas carols during their winter lunch.