GGUSD Celebrates 3,200 Students with Class of 2023 Graduations

More than 3,200 high school seniors from Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD) graduated from the district’s eight high schools during graduation ceremonies held May 31 and June 1 at the district’s stadiums at Bolsa Grande and Garden Grove high schools.

GGUSD friends and family members filled the stadiums to cheer on their graduates. Ceremonies featured student musical performances as well as speeches from students, principals, and board of education members, reading of the names, presentation of class gifts, presentation of the Class of 2023, and awarding of diplomas.

Among the Class of 2023, more than 1,100 students report that they have chosen to attend a UC or CSU school. Additionally, students in the Class of 2023 finished high school with more than 7,800 Advanced Placement courses completed and earned more than 6,800 college credits through GGUSD’s dual enrollment opportunities.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more photos. If you missed the ceremonies, you can watch the livestream videos. Click here to access the livestream links.

GGUSD Offers Free Summer Meals

GGUSD is offering its annual free Summer Meal program to help ensure that children have access to nutritional meals when school is not in session. The program provides free summer meals to GGUSD students at 14 school campuses and two library sites. It was a great first week of the program with Board of Education Trustee Lan Nguyen serving meals on the first day at the Garden Grove Library.

Breakfast and lunch meals are provided for free to students participating in GGUSD Summer School and Summer Extended Learning Programs. Community meal times are also available at GGUSD school campuses and through Lunch at the Library for children age 18 and under or individuals with disabilities in the GGUSD community who are not participating in GGUSD Summer School or Summer Extended Learning Programs.

GGUSD Intermediate Schools Celebrate 8th Grade Scholars

GGUSD intermediate schools hosted beautiful promotion ceremonies last week to celebrate the accomplishments of their eighth grade scholars as they move on with the academic and personal skills for success in high school.

Board of Education Honors Employees of the Year

The Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education honored 12 outstanding employees during its meeting on June 6, 2023.

The employees honored were the district’s nine nominees to the Orange County Department of Education’s (OCDE) 2023 Classified Employee of the Year program as well as the district’s three nominees for OCDE’s 2024 Teacher of the Year program. Among the district nominees, Senior Programmer Analyst Manjit Charaia was one of nine classified employees from across Orange County to be named an Orange County Finalist and Alamitos Intermediate School Teacher Monique Becerra was one of 15 teachers from across all of Orange County to be named an Orange County Semifinalist.

GGUSD’s nominees for Orange County Classified Employee of the Year include:

• Jennifer Nishikawa, Secretary to the Superintendent
• Paul Kemp, Plant Supervisor at Los Amigos High School
• Renee Buckley, Food Services Lead at Jordan’s Adult Transition Program
• Lian Baker, Interpreter/Translator for the Office of Special Education and Student Services
• Giao Chu, Preschool Instructional Aide at Brookhurst Elementary School
• LaVern Broadnax, Campus Safety Assistant at Santiago High School
• John Gras, Cabinet Maker
• Manjit Charaia, Senior Programmer Analyst
• David Valdez, School Bus Driver

GGUSD’s nominees for Orange County Teacher of the Year include:

• Meghan Fusillo, sixth grade teacher at Paine Elementary School
• Rolando Nunez, sixth grade dual immersion teacher at Monroe Elementary Language Academy
• Monique Becerra, English Language Arts and Journalism teacher at Alamitos Intermediate School

Watch our videos to see these exemplary employees in action.

GGUSD Board of Education Honors Award-Winning Bus Drivers

During its meeting on Tuesday, the GGUSD Board of Education celebrated the bus drivers who took home awards for their outstanding driving skills at the 2023 Bus Roadeo. First place winners include: Crystal Brown, Jose Navarro, and Rosa Rosas. Second place winners include Sandy Obregon, Shannon Lauricella, and Lucky Le. Third place winners include Eduardo Gonzalez, David Hernandez and Tran Nguyen. Congrats to these awesome drivers who help ensure GGUSD students have a safe ride to and from school each day!

GGUSD Board of Education Thanks Student Board Representative

GGUSD Board of Education thanked Student Board Representative Andrea Soriano for serving as the voice for all GGUSD students during the 2022-2023 school year. Andrea demonstrated a high level of professionalism as she provided monthly updates to the Board and thoughtful input on issues that impact students. We wish her well in the future as she attends UCI to study education policy with the goal of one day serving as a school superintendent.

GGUSD Kicks Off Summer School and Extended Learning Programs

It has been a great first week of Summer School which kicked off this week for GGUSD high school students! Many of our elementary schools also opened this week with full day Extended Learning Programs in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club. We love seeing GGUSD students engaged in sharpening their academic skills (Goal 1) and using the summer months to keep learning!

GGUSD Recognizes Pride Month

In GGUSD, we are committed to providing ALL students, staff and families with a warm and welcoming culture and climate (Goal 2) where all individuals are respected and valued! Pride Month is an opportunity for us to support our LGBTQ+ community and to reinforce our commitment to treating all individuals with kindness and empathy.