Cerritos Elementary School

The principal of Cerritos Elementary School said that despite the deadly officer-involved shooting early this morning just steps from the campus, student life has remained calm. Principal Cynthia McCarty and a psychologist visited classrooms to meet with students who may have needed any help coping with the police activity, but they were by and large understanding and expressed no major concerns. McCarty also created a script for teachers for student inquiries about the shooting, in which a man was shot and killed by Glendale police officers after engaging them in an intense gun battle early this morning.

Gary Moskowitz Four years ago, 33-year-old Laura Carbajal was unsure about what she wanted to do with her life. A summer job at Cerritos Elementary School as a teacher's assistant working directly with kindergarten students quickly taught her that she had found what she was looking for, and now, Carbajal is less than a year away from becoming a credentialed teacher. Through the help of the school district's California School Paraprofessional Teacher Training Program Grant, Carbajal and other aspiring teachers are moving into Glendale classrooms as fully credentialed teachers.

Gary Moskowitz SOUTHEAST GLENDALE -- Gertrude Ness, 96, remembers seeing the World War II Army barracks that were to become her classrooms back around 1960 for the first time. And to Ness, the former head teacher at the district's Child Development Center, it wasn't a pretty sight. But the completion Friday of the center's new facility on the campus of Cerritos Elementary School is a sight to be seen. The construction of the new Child Development Center is part of a $13-million Measure K building project at Cerritos Elementary.

Gary Moskowitz SOUTHEAST GLENDALE -- To some, the World War II army barracks that used to house the Child Development Center at Cerritos Elementary School are rickety, old buildings that need to go. But for the center's former head teacher and director, Gertrude Ness, those old buildings are full of rich, wonderful memories of a long career of educating Glendale's youth. Ness, 96, made a special visit to the old and new centers Friday with her daughter, Jo Ness.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Preparing for standardized tests took the form of an energized pep rally Wednesday at Cerritos Elementary School. Balloons, cheering and chanting filled the auditorium as the school faculty and administration tried to motivate the students to feel confident about taking the Standardized Testing and Reporting — or STAR — exam, as it is more commonly known. "It tests what you learn the whole entire year," said Ally Munoz, 10, who sat with a group in front of the assembly, leading the other students in the Wildcat Chant.

From Caribbean limbo to British rock ’n’ roll, the songs and dances performed Friday night by students at Cerritos Elementary School had an unmistakably global flair. Preschoolers sang in French while wearing homemade berets, and third-graders danced to Beatles classics such as “She Loves You.” It was the school’s International Festival, an annual celebration of cultures that has been going on for decades. Cerritos alumni and parents congregated at the school to enjoy food that was as international as the entertainment and watch the students perform.

Darleene Barrientos At Cerritos Elementary School, gone are the days of the trembling floors and the migrating, makeshift cafeteria. After five long years of construction, the school at 120 E. Cerritos Ave. boasts of a new cafeteria, a smooth playground and floors that stay still. "This is the first time ... students have had the same place to eat where they ate last year," Principal Janice Hanada said. "In the last few years, we have had different cafeteria locations.

Darleene Barrientos City and public school leaders will be teaming up again in November to discuss working on more projects together. City Council and Glendale Unified School District board members want to talk about doing more projects like the year-old Edison-Pacific Park complex and Cerritos Elementary School. The goal is to create more park space for public use after school hours on campuses throughout the city. Schools targeted for future projects include Fremont, Franklin, R.D. White, Dunsmore, Mark Keppel, Marshall and Muir elementary schools and Toll, Roosevelt and Wilson middle schools.

Alex Coolman EAST GLENDALE -- The battle was fierce Friday at Glendale High, but the competitors left the field standing. In the Little Theater, students clashed with swords made of rhymes. Their freestyle raps cut with wit and deflected blows with oddball humor. At the side of the stage, Michael La Masa looked pleased. La Masa, who described himself as a poet and spoken-word artist, had encouraged the students to take the stage as part of his "Express Yourself" program.

Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center employees will deliver gifts to needy families today.SOUTHWEST GLENDALE -- Santa Claus will come in the guise of Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center employees today, as they deliver a truckload of gifts to needy families at Cerritos Elementary School. The hospital has been partnering up with the school for at least the past 12 years, providing Christmas gifts for an average 18 to 20 disadvantaged families each year, said Melinda Perez, the community liaison for Cerritos Elementary.