Staff & Student of the Year Winners Announced

On May 13, FUSD announced staff and student of the year awards. Staff and students are nominated by FUSD staff, and nominations are reviewed and selected by the Superintendent and her executive cabinet members. Staff are recognized for their commitment to students, contribution to creating a positive and collaborative culture, and leadership and involvement in the school community. Students from Sierra High School and Fillmore High School are nominated by staff members and are selected based on academic achievement, participation in school activities, and leadership qualities.  

Administrator of the Year: Beverly Garnica, Principal for Rio Vista School

Certificated Staff Member of the Year: Ashley McClain, Science/AVID Teacher at Fillmore Middle School

Classified Staff Member of the Year: Martha Hope, Attendance Clerk, San Cayetano School

Fillmore High School Student of the Year: Presley McLain

Sierra High School Student of the Year: Lesly Izarraraz

The Governing Board will recognize all award recipients on May 20, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. Photos will be posted to the District blog and social media.

Lupe Medina and Valerie Brown Recognized at Board Meeting

Fillmore High Principal Keith Derrick presented an update on programs, activities, and initiatives for the 2024-2025 school year that included recognizing Classified Employee of the Month, Lupe Medina, Community Liaison and Certificated Employee of the Month, Valerie Brown, Science Teacher. Thank you Lupe and Valerie for all you do for students, families, and our Fillmore/Piru community.

UC Success Night

The Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) at UC Santa Barbara hosted its annual UC Success Night at Fillmore High School on Friday, May 9th. The event celebrated 39 high school seniors who have been accepted to UC schools. Families joined their seniors for a special evening that included a catered dinner and recognition ceremony. Each student was honored with certificates and letters of recognition from the offices of Senator Monique Limón, Assemblymember Steve Bennett, and Congresswoman Julia Brownley.

Chef Develops Meals for Fillmore Unified

Chef Keegan Wigger, a Brigaid Program Chef, is working with the Fillmore Unified School District’s Child Nutrition Services team on developing meal options for our students. Chef uses a process known as Scratch Cooking. Scratch cooking refers to preparing food from basic, raw ingredients rather than using prepackaged, processed, or semi-prepared items. It involves starting with fresh vegetables, meats, grains, and other whole foods to create meals, focusing on natural ingredients and traditional cooking methods. Chef came to FUSD from the Brigaid program. Brigaid has assembled a team of professional chefs who apply their culinary expertise to help school foodservice programs achieve their goals.

Art Appreciation Month

March 2025 was Art in our Schools Month. We celebrated and recognized the amazingly talented young artists within our Fillmore Unified School District community. They include the Fillmore High School student produced and directed play "Death is Weird," Fillmore Middle School students work on Cubism, and Fillmore High School student art submitted to the Ventura County Fair competition.