Whitney Alumni Push to Have School's Media Arts Center Named After Founding Principal

The ABC School Board met for its second meeting of the month on October 18, and received a notable turnout in regards to the naming of the new media arts center under construction at .

The Naming of the Whitney High School Media Arts Center

Several Whitney alumni are pushing towards naming the the building after Whitney's founding principal, Robert S. Beall, who recently passed away on Oct. 5. Others would rather see former Cerritos mayor Grace Hu receive the honor. Hu was the highest donor of the construction project with a $750,000 gift donation. 

Several public comment speakers spoke in support of Beall, including Cerritos councilmember and Whitney alumnus, Mark Pulido; former Whitney teacher, Bill Raabe, and Long Beach Chief of Staff, Jonathan Kraus.

“It is time to acknowledge what Bob has done for this district,” Raabe said. “Bob was a remarkable, inspirational leader. This is a great district, and one of the things that made it great is Whitney High School. I encourage you to do what is right.”

Pulido and ABC School Board candidate Louise Dodson mentioned in their public comments that the board should reference Board Policy 7310, which states:

“The Governing Board shall name schools or individual buildings in recognition of:

1. Individuals, living or deceased, who have made outstanding contributions to the county or community;
2. Individuals, living or deceased, who have made contributions of state, national or worldwide significance; or
3. The geographic area in which the school or building is located.”

Speakers who showed up in support of the highest donor, Grace Hu, emphasized what was advertised by Whitney High School as well as what was shown on flyers regarding donation: to honor the highest donor of the building.

Dodson said any promises that have been made without including the school board have to be revisited.

“The board policy will prevail,” Dodson said.

Speakers, like school board candidate, Cindy Yen Chen, showed support of what was promised by Whitney High School. Chen even suggested honoring Beall in another way, or in such a way that satisfies the needs of both parties involved. She, like Pulido, wished to have this topic placed on the agenda for the next board meeting scheduled for Nov. 1.

Edline Presentation

Colin Sprigg, ABC's Director of Information Techonology presented Edline, a unified online environment for ABC schools. It allows parents to sign-on to classroom webpages and see the exact same assignments their children are being assigned.

Teachers communicate via Edline
- Homework, quiz/test dates, news, activities, calendar items and digital documents

Parents and students access classroom info 24/7- Access digital textbooks online

Access to one-click reports from student information system
- Student progress reports, grades, transcripts, attendance

The next board meeting will be held on Nov. 1.