By Gina Ramsey
A sign of a successful school district is one that makes a commitment to assist each of its students from finger painting to PhDs, one grade level at a time. With 85 public schools and more than 70,000 students, Long Beach is the fourth largest school district in the state, as well as the largest employer in the city. Among the many awards and recognitions bestowed upon it, the district is quite proud of their Long Beach College Promise, an agreement made with Long Beach City College and California State University, Long Beach. The Promise gives all district students the opportunity to receive a college education by providing certain educational benefits such as student/family outreach services, two years of free tuition at City
College, and pathway support, among other assistance. Behind the widespread national and international excellence acknowledgements are the faculty, staff, and students that help make LBUSD one of the reasons why life is great in the 908!
Why Do Teachers Love Teaching in Long Beach?
What makes our LB schools so great are the connections teachers have with students and families. We learn and grow together in the classroom, and I also enjoy running into families while doing errands, exercising at one of our beautiful parks or having fun at one of our community events. That is why I choose to live and work in Long Beach!
Vanessa Uy
Former Prisk Elementary School Teacher
LBUSD Integration Coach
LBUSD has a unique blend of urban and suburban residents representing a diverse and multicultural community. We remain committed to continuous improvement on educating a wide range of students. It’s a large city district with a small town feel… you’ll find generations of families who have been through the district. We remain committed to educating the whole student, academically and personally; doing what it takes to place students in a position to be successful. As a parent, I appreciate the warm and demanding approach that teachers have taken to educate my children. The grace and professionalism shown this year during COVID has been nothing short of a miracle and I’m honored to have spent my entire career with LBUSD.
Stephanie Heilig
BCT and LBUSD Teacher of the Year 2018
Pathway Coordinator Millikan High School
The first aspect of Long Beach Unified that makes this a special place to work is the people themselves. We live in a very diverse city and that is reflected in our schools. I am always proud to say that I live and work in one of the most diverse cities in the world, and at Wilson High School I work at THE most diverse high school in Long Beach. Our diversity is our strength.”
Mira Smeltzer
CSULB Teaching Credential 2009
Lead Teacher for the School of the Arts at Wilson High School
Why Do Students Love Learning in Long Beach?
LBUSD is great because they have good programs for us to choose from. I like my school because it makes me feel at home. The learning atmosphere is good and the teachers are friendly. I feel like I can talk to them whenever I need help with homework, classwork or if I have a problem. It’s not always about schoolwork. Teachers also like to know about who we
are and what we do after school. My history teacher this year got to know us through fun projects and that made the class fun.
Xavier Nuñez
8th Grade, Bancroft Middle School
Something that makes LBUSD great is that it is clear that our education is important. This past year was pretty rough with online learning. I started strong doing my work and turning in my assignments but slowly lost interest. Being home made me feel too comfortable so slowly my grades dropped from A’s and B’s to D’s and F’s. My teacher was worried for me and talked to me to figure out what was going on. We worked together and they helped me when I needed it and I also worked hard. This opened my eyes to see that my teachers cared for my success and this is why I think my school is great. Bancroft Middle School makes me feel welcome and
like I belong. Teachers are very motivated to help me succeed.
Noah Nuñez
8th Grade, Bancroft Middle School
My school is great because the teachers and parents really work together to make our school great. My teacher, Ms. Schreiber is a very kind teacher, always trying to help all the students. My birthday happened while we were still doing school at home via zoom and I was sad because our teacher always made birthdays a little special. Since I wasn’t going to be able to see my friends in person at school for my birthday, I was a little sad. But the day I woke up on my birthday, there was a huge, beautiful yard sign in my front yard just for me on my birthday. It made the day a little more special for me and I was super excited. There was another time, when we found out a kid in our school was feeling depressed because he couldn’t have a birthday party. So our teacher and a bunch of parents made a plan for a drive-by birthday surprise. We decorated our cars and the boy was super happy. His mom told us all thank you.
Gabriella Hernandez
5th Grade, Cubberley School
It was a difficult year with many challenges but most of my teachers were very flexible when it came to turning in the work. This helped me immensely because deadlines were often hard to make. Especially Mr. Rivera, who realized we all were doing the best we could considering the circumstances. Returning to in-person learning was definitely a triumphant moment. Having to learn via Zoom classes was not very successful, in my opinion. So being able to go to class was great! It was very refreshing to see my friends again, especially my baseball teammates.
Jordan De La Torre
10th grade, Lakewood High School
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