History of Resurrection Academy

In 1964, Resurrection Academy was merely a four room building staffed by the Daughters of the Divine Charity. In 1964, a second structure was added so new grade levels were able to be added annually. Soon grades kindergarten through fourth existed as self-contained classrooms and grade five and six and seven and eight (respectively) existed as combination classes. In 1980, the seventh and eighth grade combination class was discontinued due to low enrollment. Five years later, a need for a preschool in the community became apparent, and one was opened that has since become an integral part of the Resurrection Academy. The need for a morning and afternoon extended care program was investigated and was deemed necessary. In 1986 an extended care program was established and has since become a valuable asset that meets the needs of a large portion of our students’ families. The construction of the social hall in 1988 has met many of the needs of both the school and the parish. In 1994, a middle sch ool building was constructed to house grades six through eight. Grade seven was established that year, and grade eight began enrollment the following year. In 2003, our Preschool was expanded to accommodate 30 students from a capital improvement grant of fifty-thousand dollars from the Children and Families Commission of San Bernardino County.

Resurrection Academy is a parish school with dedicated, committed, and qualified administration, faculty, and staff. Currently a principal, vice principal/resource teacher, eleven lay teachers, five teacher assistants, one physical education teacher, advanced science/computer teacher, and a remedial/computer teacher serve Resurrection Academy. Additional staff members include an administrative assistant, a secretary/receptionist, two hot lunch supervisors, an extended care supervisor, and a maintenance crew.

Resurrection Academy is a very close knit, family oriented community. Many of the families are related or have a close affinity to each other. Our parents have chosen our school because of the Christian values taught, high quality education, strong emphasis on discipline, small school environment, philosophy of education, and our safety record. The parents of Resurrection Academy are supportive of the school’s endeavors as shown by their financial support and by volunteering their time in various school activities. Parents make themselves available to chaperone field trips, to teach Mexican folkloric dances to our students, to work at Casino nights, Halloween carnival, and Cinco de Mayo celebration to name a few. Some parents personally solicit donations for school from their businesses or place of work. Our parent employees from Edison get their company to match any donations they give. Our parents support us through Target for Education. We also have parents from the Inland Empire Mall supp orting our school through their various education fundraisers. Parents also save Campbell’s labels, printer ink cartridges, and box top for education points to help support the school. Parents continually donate gift certificates and items to include in our gift baskets for Casino nights and Cinco de Mayo auctions.

A part of our school’s success is due to our community support. We avail of the Title funds available to us through the Fontana Unified School District. Money from Title 1 Part A has enabled us to offer in-school and after school tutoring to our students in grades kindergarten through 5. Money from Title I Part B is used for Staff Development, specifically training for our new Reading program. Several of our teachers are availing of the funds from Title II Part A to advance their professional education modeling the example to be Life Long Learners. We have used Title II Part B funds to acquire computers and printers for our classrooms as well as TVs, VCRs, overhead projectors, LCD projectors, videos, library books, and Math and Science manipulatives. Title IV funds have been used to offer an after school literacy program to our parents. Individuals and business organizations in neighboring areas have supported the school with their donations, and large corporations have provided support and sp onsorship in our major fund-raisers.

Resurrection Academy strives to be well known in the community. Our principal joining the Fontana Chamber of Commerce has enabled us to increase the school’s recognition and obtain a wider range of clientele. Becoming a member of the Chamber has provided and opened networking and marketing avenues with other businesses in the area.

Our students represent a wide variety of learning abilities and are divided into ten classrooms with between approximately 18 to 39 students in each class. Our Preschool through grade five classrooms are self-contained with a full time aide in Preschool through First grade and a part time aide in grades two through five.

Our middle school is departmentalized in grades six, seven, and eight. The students rotate among three different classrooms and teachers who teach in their areas of expertise: Religion, Math, Science, Social Studies, Literature, and Language Arts.

Each year many of our graduates continue their education in Catholic schools. Approximately 50% of our graduates applied, were accepted, and attended Catholic high schools over the past five years.

The administration and teachers, supported by parent expectation, have set high academic standards for our students who are all expected to become life-long learners. Typically, about half of our graduates test and are accepted into Catholic high schools to continue their education. Many of our graduates return and report on their high school and college successes. We also have several alumni who choose to send their children to Resurrection Academy to receive their education.

Through the years we have accepted students with diverse ethnic background as well as students with various learning abilities. We celebrate our diverse ethnic backgrounds through various cultural events such as Hispanic heritage Month, Cinco de Mayo, Black History Day, International Day, and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. We provide the educational support needed to accommodate our students various learning abilities through after school tutoring, small group pull out, one on one instruction, language arts and math resource teacher, and modified instruction by the teachers.