At the Board of Education meeting on December 9, Principal Adele Thomas announced that Juniper Elementary School has been accepted as a "No Excuses University" (NEU) school.  NEU is a network of elementary, middle, and junior high schools across the United States.  These schools actively promote a comprehensive model of college readiness to all students the moment they begin elementary school.

Although the application process was a fairly simple one, being accepted by Turn Around Schools as an NEU was no sure thing.  Not all schools that apply are accepted, and not all schools that are accepted are invited to remain in the NEU network if they fail to hold up the standards.  According to Damen Lopez, Founder of NEU, "Only the boldest and most passionate schools are accepted into the NEU Network of Schools."  In fact, only 60 schools across the nation have been accepted into the NEU network.  Another Fontana school, Mango Elementary School, became a "No Excuses University" school in 2008-09.

As Ms. Thomas explained, "The big thing that we are doing, is that all of our classrooms have been adopted by a college, to get that college environment.  We want the students to be motivated to look beyond high school - not to just have their goal for high school graduation but to make sure that they have their grades in place and their goal set with their eyes on college.  Every year that they are here at Juniper, they will be exposed to a different college atmosphere, because the teachers keep their colleges.  So, between kindergarten and sixth grade, they will have exposure to six different colleges.  We try to get as much involvement from the colleges as possible, so they have a picture of what the college campus looks like, what the requirements are, just to get that motivation built in."

Goals and symbolism play a large part of the NEU culture.  This symbolism is seen in the college flags and banners hung in every classroom and felt through the class partnerships forged between classrooms and universities.  College is also part of the daily language at Juniper and an expectation of what will occur after high school.  Teacher Jaquelyn Nwandoi explained, "We're always talking about life and if we want a good life and what a good life looks like.  We're always talking about the kinds of things you have to do if you want a good life and the choices there are available to you  We try to promote college readiness and let students know that it is with college and education that they can have a good life."

Parent Michelle Anderson agreed, "I want my son to feel like he can accomplish anything and I think college really helps with that.  I have friends that didn't go to college and they really feel limited as to what they can do and who they can work for.  But with college, you can work wherever you want and can do whatever you want.  Whatever your dream is, you can follow it."

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