| ABC Unified School District | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
SoutheasternLos Angeles County | |
| District information | |
| Type | Public |
| Grades | K-12 and Adult School |
| Established | 1965 |
| Superintendent | Dr. Gina Zietlow |
| Schools | 30 |
| Other information | |
| Website | www |
TheABC Unified School District is aschool district that is based inCerritos, California, United States.
ABCUSD serves the cities ofArtesia, most of Cerritos,Hawaiian Gardens, the portion ofLakewood east of theSan Gabriel River, as well as tiny portions ofLong Beach,Norwalk,La Mirada, andSanta Fe Springs[1]
"ABC" stands for Artesia (founded in 1875), Bloomfield (founded in 1885), and Carmenita (founded in 1902), three districts which were unified in 1965.[2][3]
ABC Adult School is a public local adult school, established by the ABC Unified School District and headquartered in Cerritos, California.
| Patricia Nixon Elementary School | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Nixon's campus | |
| Location | |
 | |
19600 Jacob Avenue , California | |
| Coordinates | 33°51′09″N118°04′34″W / 33.852400°N 118.075980°W /33.852400; -118.075980 |
| Information | |
| School type | Public elementary |
| Founded | 1973 |
| School district | ABC Unified School District |
| Principal | Dr. Tracy |
| Grades | K-6 |
| Enrollment | 670 |
| Mascot | Jaguar |
ThePatricia Nixon Elementary School is located inCerritos. It was built in 1973 and has grades kindergarten through sixth. The school is named after the lateFirst Lady of the United StatesPat Nixon. Patricia Nixon Elementary School was recognized as aCalifornia Distinguished School in 2004 and 2008. It was also the site where one of the planes involved in theCerritos Mid Air Collision of 1986 crashed into the ground.
ABC Unified School District's Board of Education members are elected by geographical district, to a four-year term. The elections were held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of odd-numbered years until the 2017 election. Effective with the November 2020 US General election, elections are held in even-numbered years.
In 2010, Eileen Blagden, the principal of Stowers Elementary School, filed awhistleblower lawsuit against ABC Unified School District alleging retaliation for reporting alleged death threats made by a teacher.[4]
According to court documents, the incident involved Kevin Michael Kirby, a kindergarten teacher who had been transferred to Stowers Elementary following a suspension from his previous position.[4] Blagden alleged that in January 2010, after Kirby was involved in a motorcycle accident and arrived at school in a distressed state, he told her he wanted to "hire a hitman" to kill two fellow kindergarten teachers.[5]
Blagden claimed that when she reported the incident to the district's Human Resources Department, she was instructed not to notify law enforcement or the threatened teachers.[6] Despite these instructions, Blagden contacted theLos Angeles County Sheriff's Department over the weekend and informed the two teachers who had allegedly been threatened.[4]
Following her report to authorities, Blagden was placed on paid administrative leave and subsequently demoted to a classroom teaching position in June 2010.[4] The district maintained that her demotion was due to performance issues rather than retaliation for whistleblowing.[5]
In June 2012,Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joanne O'Donnell denied the school district's motion for summary judgment, finding that there was evidence another school employee knew of the threats and did not report them, which "weakens the credibility of defendant's position."[4][7] The case was scheduled for trial in October 2012.[6]
In November 2012, the parties reached a settlement subject to approval by the ABC Unified School District Board of Education.[8] The case was formally dismissed on November 19, 2012.[9] The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The teacher involved, Kevin Michael Kirby, told sheriff's investigators he made the "hitman" comment "in jest" and said he "wouldn't hurt a fly."[5] District officials confirmed that Kirby was no longer working for ABC Unified, though they did not specify when or under what circumstances he left.[4]
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