Students participate in annual Senior Signing Night
More than 80 Montclair High School seniors participated in the school’s sixth annual Senior Signing Night event this spring.
At the event, which borrows from the college signing ceremonies for student athletes, graduating seniors signed certificates of commitment to attend college.
Rov Loren Aniceto, who plans to attend Cal State San Bernardino, was one of the participants.
“On a scale from 1 to 10, I think I’m an 11,” Aniceto said at the event, according to a news release. “Ever since I was young, I’ve wanted to go to college. It’s a stepping stone to being successful.”
The signing event was held April 28, the night after 59 Montclair High School seniors took part in a graduation ceremony for the Montclair to College program, a partnership between the Chaffey Joint
Union High School District, the city of Montclair and Chaffey College to provide academic mentoring and two years of financial support to students who plan to attend the college.
Both programs are part of an ongoing commitment by the Chaffey district to incentivize and prepare its nearly 24,000 students for college and careers, according to the news release.
“We do this for athletes, but we wanted to recognize all of our seniors who have worked so hard to prepare themselves for this next step in their educational and career journey, whether it’s college, university, a trade school or the military,” Joshua Cho, Montclair High School principal, said about the signing event. “We’re also celebrating the great work of our parents, who are every bit a part of this journey.”
The Montclair to College program started in 1998 and provides a pathway for Montclair High School students to attend Chaffey College at no cost. A similar program is available within the city of Ontario.
This year’s Montclair to College graduation was held at The Canyon Montclair and featured presentations by Montclair Mayor Javier John Dutrey, school and district officials, Chaffey College President Henry Shannon and Montclair High School alumni Luisa Vasquez and Alexandre Palaez.
“This program has benefitted me drastically by allowing me to attend college right out of high school, helping me get organized and helping me get an outstanding job with the city of Montclair,” Palaez told the graduates. “It can be hard – for financial reasons, lack of motivation, fear of not knowing what we want to become. Without the help of the Montclair to College program, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”