COLTON COURIER Weekly
August 07, 2025
Vol 153, NO. 33
Real Journey Academies’ 95% Graduation Rate Prepares Inland Students for Business, Career or College with Experiential Learning
IECN.com
Redlands PD Investigate New Leads in 2023 Disappearance of Nashville Man Linked to Religious Group Pg. 3
PHOTO RJA A student at Entrepreneur High School Fontana practices knife skills in a full-scale culinary arts kitchen, part of the school’s hands-on career pathway programs.
By Manny Sandoval
W
ith a mission to equip every student for life beyond graduation, Real Journey Academies (RJA) are redefining public education across the Inland Empire—preparing students to start businesses, enter the workforce, or attend college with confidence and hands-on skills. The Inland Empire-based charter school
PHOTO RJA Students in the Digital Video Production pathway at Entrepreneur High School San Bernardino work in a professional green screen studio to develop on-camera and media skills.
network reports 2024 graduation rates exceeding 95% at both of its high schools— well above California’s statewide average of 86.4%, according to the California Department of Education.
(2024): 95.83% (115 of 120 seniors graduated)
Entrepreneur High School – San Bernardino (2024): 96.88% (93 of 96 seniors graduated)
“Our schools offer a truly personalized, one-on-one experience,” said Veronica Pacheco, director of school development. “We’re catching students who might fall through the cracks and giving them the tools to thrive—academically, professionally, and
Entrepreneur High School – Fontana
Real Journey, cont. next pg.
Colton Lions Club Gives Away 100 Free Backpacks to Students Ahead of School Year with Grant Support 232 Wildlife Deaths in One Year Spark Plans for Two SR-62 Crossings in Calif. Desert Corridor Pg. 4
Riverside Residents Demand Civilian Oversight as Sheriff ’s Dept. Faces Record Deaths, $77M in Settlements Pg. 4
Inland Empire Community Newspapers Office: (909) 381-9898 Editorial: iecn1@mac.com Advertising: iecn1@mac.com Legals : iecnlegals@gmail.com
PHOTO DR G. Members of the Colton Lions Club who participated in the Community Backpack give-a-way on August 2.
By Dr. G (Dr. Luis S. González), community writer
L
ast Saturday, the Colton Lions Club set up shop at Pepper’s Park (5th St. and N St.) to hand out free backpacks to the first 100 kids of any school age who came to the park with their parent(s). Now in its fourth year, the Colton Lions Club, under the direction of new President Carlos Araiza, has spon-
sored this event, which is designed to help kids get off to a positive start when school began on Aug. 4. “We believe in helping the community,” said Evelyn Lopez, one of the long-time members, who went on to explain, “The funds came from Forest Financial Insurance Co., who offer grants for local community efforts.” One of the members of the Colton Lions, Debbie Walker,
devoted several hours to researching grant opportunities and worked to write and secure this community grant, which brought forth the funds within six weeks. “Once received,” responded Debbie when asked, “we set out to contact Amazon to purchase the backpacks.” Within a couple of weeks, the backpacks were delivered to the Lions Club just in Backpacks cont. next pg.