EL SEGUNDO HERALD February 14, 2019 Page 5
School Spotlight
TIRE
COLLECTION EVENT
Bring your scrap tires to our FREE collection event.
Saturday, February 23, 2019 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
RESTRICTIONS: Open to L.A. County residents. No tires from businesses. Rims accepted. No
oversized or tractor tires. If you plan to drop-off more than 9 tires, please contact the Department
of Public Health a week ahead at (626) 430-5540 to request a Tire Transport Form.
LOCATION: County Road Maintenance Yard●• 5530 W 83rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Recycling tires is easy. It’s free. It’s good for the community!
CleanLA.com 1(888)CLEAN LA
Eagles Sports Stars Sign Their
Letters of Intent for Colleges
Story and Photos by Gregg McMullin
Eight very special El Segundo High School
seniors will continue their education in the
fall. These students aren’t special because
they are going forward to college for higher
education. No, they’ll join hundreds of other
high school seniors who’ll continue the next
step in their yearning for higher education
but with one added element: These students
happen to be athletes too and will be playing
a sport in college. These last four years
are the culmination of hard work in both
the classroom and on the field of play and
it has paid off in the form of a scholarship.
National Signing Day is the first day that
a high school senior can sign a binding
national letter of intent for college. To be a
student athlete in high school is one thing.
To continue that drive, ambition and passion
to play a sport at the collegiate level,
while concentrating on a potential degree is
not reserved for everyone. Nicholas Allison
(swimming), Dylan Aubert (basketball), Gaby
Benjamin (softball), Joseph Gorte (football),
Ben Peterson, (basketball), Kaili Reitano,
(softball), William Schodorf (swimming)
and Alexandra Tecun (volleyball) are all part
of a talented 2019 class.
Nicholas Allison (swimming) is a
three-year Ocean League champion in the
butterfly and backstroke events. When selecting
a college, he wanted to make sure that it
checked off all his wants and needs. That’s
why Nicholas will be attending UC Santa
Barbara to swim for the Gauchos. He said
the support from his family, friends and his
teammates were his biggest influence and
why he was so successful in the classroom
and in the pool.
Dylan Aubert (basketball) is a three-year
letterman for the Eagles who won the team’s
Most Improved Player award as a junior. He
chose Cal Lutheran because of his desire to
continue playing basketball and because the
coaching staff felt he could succeed immediately
in the classroom and on the court.
Dylan emphasized that assistant coach Scott
Martin greatly impacted his life both on and
off the court. “He pushed me to become a
better person and I couldn’t have done it
without him,” he said.
Gaby Benjamin (softball) is a four-year
starter for her softball team. She noted that
she was influenced at a young age to play
softball competitively because of her older
sister Monique. “We pushed each other to
be the best we could be and I wouldn’t be
the person I am without her,” Gaby said. Her
drive in the classroom coupled with her athleticism
on the diamond meant playing after
high school. When she became a recruit, it
was easy to select Loyola Marymount for its
successful program. Gaby said she is thankful
for the support she has received from her
family over the years. She added that she will
cherish memories like her pregame rituals of
throwing with Adri Hebert and playing as a
Sports
Eagles sign their letters of intent. Bottom row from left: Joey Gorte, Alexandra Tecun, Gaby Benjamin and Kaili Reitano. Top row from
left: Dylan Aubert, Ben Peterson, William Schodorf and Nicholas Allison
ESUSD
See Sports, page 13
School Board Recap: Gooden in at
ESHS; Bond Committee Is Set
By Duane Plank
Acting El Segundo High School Principal
Dr. Melissa Gooden had the interim part of
her title removed Tuesday evening. The El
Segundo School Board officially named her
the permanent principal at the campus during
the night’s meeting. Gooden took on the acting
role in late November after Dr. Jennifer Hawn
resigned her position and began tackling a new
educational opportunity in Pasadena.
Gooden, in her second year working in the
El Segundo Unified School District, said that
she was “excited for the opportunity,” touting
the continuance of the “good work” being
done at the high school, and thanking the
administrators and staff that have made her
transition as seamless as possible.
With the passing of Measure ES by the
voters of El Segundo last November, the
District was tasked with deciding how to effectively
allocate the $92 million dollars that
came with the bond ask. The money has been
earmarked to match the needs of the District’s
Long-Range Facility Master plan, which was
initially finalized in 2016, and updated by PBK
Architects last October.
On Tuesday, the Board continued the march
towards financial due diligence, ratifying the
appointment of seven community members who
will comprise the Education Code-mandated
Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. Eighteen
candidates applied to work on the committee,
with seven members selected, including Lance
Giroux, Dr. Bill Watkins, Jennifer Jirkovsky,
Ryan Baldino, Cheryl Smith, Scott Patterson
and Stuart Carroll.
Watkins served the District in multiple capacities
over many decades and decided not to run
for School Board reelection in November. He
will also be honored at the Education Foundation
Gala on May 10. “I am honored to help
our school district and community in any way
that I can,” he emailed prior to the meeting.
Board President Nancy Cobb emailed that she
wanted to “thank the community for their willingness
to serve, without compensation, on this
state-mandated committee,” and that the committee
will “review and report to the Board and
the community on the expenditure of the funds.”
During her comments later in the meeting,
Superintendent Dr. Melissa Moore explained
the “scoring” process used to select committee
members. Cobb noted that the committee
members don’t have the “responsibility to
either oversee or prioritize specific projects.”
Special presentations were somewhat truncated
at Tuesday evening’s meeting. Student
Representative to the Board Mathew Tritasavit
spoke about the comings and goings at the high
school. Next, Education Foundation CEO Carol
Pirsztuk highlighted recent and upcoming Ed!
Foundation fundraisers and events, noting Ed!
“lawn signs” should start popping up in the
community in the next two weeks.
Next to the presentation podium was Gooden,
who recognized the myriad accomplishments
of the ladies on the high school’s varsity cross
See ESUSD, page 12
WISHING YOU LOVE & HAPPINESS.
From all of us at Herald Publications.