Chaffey District Honored as One of the IE's Top Workplaces

ONTARIO, CA – The Chaffey Joint Union High School District has been honored as one of the Inland Empire’s Top Workplaces – an honor the District attributes to the more than 2,000 faculty and staff members who have made Chaffey one of the top performing school systems in California.

The award, from the Inland News Group, was based on surveys of employees throughout the two-county region. Chaffey ranked among the Top 3 major employers and higher than any other school district.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Inland Empire is home to more than 71,000 businesses and employers.

“We’re proud to be recognized as a top workplace, and are extremely grateful to each and every member of our team for helping to create the culture of success that drives us as a district everyday,” said Dr. Mathew Holton, Chaffey District Superintendent.

With about 24,000 students, the Chaffey District is the second largest high school district in California. In addition to its eight comprehensive high schools, Chaffey has a continuation high school, an online high school, a community day school, an adult school and alternative programs.

But it’s the District success in preparing students for life after high school that has earned it the respect of peers and the community at large, withU.S. Rep. Norma Torres recently describing Chaffey as “one of the most progressive school districts in California.”

Notable accomplishments include a dramatic increase in the percentage of Chaffey District students passing the A-G coursework needed for admission into the Cal State or University of California systems – from 24.6% in 2008 to 63.6% last year – one of the highest rates of growth in California. Chaffey District students who meet mutually agreed-upon admission requirements are now guaranteed enrollment at any of eight universities: University of La Verne California Baptist University, California State University San Bernardino, California State Polytechnic University Pomona, California State University Bakersfield, University of Redlands, Azusa Pacific University and Grand Canyon University.

At a ceremony honoring the Inland News Group award winners, Mike Stull, a professor at Cal State San Bernardino and director of the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship, said culture that employees can embrace and feel proud of is the key to organizational success.

“Culture cannot be replicated. It’s in your DNA,” Stull said.