W e e k l y RIALTO RECORD
Vol 24, NO. 20
December 18, 2025
Jehue Middle School’s Tamara Carlson Earns CLMS Region 10 Educator of the Year Finalist Honor
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PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL William G. Jehue Middle School science teacher Tamara Carlson is surrounded by Rialto Unified School District leaders, including members of the Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Alejandro Álvarez, during the California League of Middle Schools Region 10 Educator of the Year Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 at the Marriott Riverside. Carlson was honored as a Region 10 Educator of the Year finalist in recognition of her more than 22 years of service and her commitment to hands-on, student-centered learning.
By Manny Sandoval
F
or more than two decades, Tamara Carlson has made it her mission to help students feel seen, supported, and excited to learn. That commitment was recently recognized when the William G. Jehue Middle School science teacher was honored as a Region 10 Educator of the Year finalist by the California League of Middle Schools (CLMS).
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Carlson was celebrated during the CLMS Region 10 Educator of the Year Awards Dinner, held Dec. 8 at the Marriott Riverside, where outstanding middle school educators from Inyo, Mono, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties were recognized for their impact on students and school communities. Each finalist was highlighted through a video tribute showcasing their teaching philosophy and classroom practices.
Educator of the Year, cont. on next pg.
Ella Film Festival Brings Inland Empire's First Women-Centered Film Fest to KVCR By Manny Sandoval
T
he Inland Empire’s first women-centered film festival will debut Friday, Dec. 19, at KVCR Public Media in San Bernardino, with organizers promising a pink-carpet welcome, a resource expo, a women-in-film panel and an awards program built to spotlight filmmakers who say they’ve too often been left out of the industry’s main stages.
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The Ella Film Festival runs from 5 to 9:30 PM and was founded by San Bernardino Valley College Film, TV, and Media alumni Briana Navarro, Mariana Lapizco, Monet Sprague and Mars Clara. In an interview conducted Monday, Dec. 15, Navarro and Lapizco said all four are founders, while the two of them are leading the organizing effort.
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Carlson is known for making science come to life through hands-on activities and a caring approach that tailors instruction to meet students’ individual needs. “Being a nominee for the California League of Middle Schools has been a great honor,” Carlson said. “I have been teaching for 22 years and feel like this nomination is a testament to my dedication to the students of
“We’ve been calling ourselves the Founding Mothers,” Navarro said. PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL Briana Navarro (left) and Mariana Lapizco (right) prepare Monday, Dec. 15, outside KVCR Public Media in San Bernardino ahead of the inaugural Ella Film Festival.
The idea sparked earlier this year after Lapizco attended
Sundance and later visited a Los Angeles festival dedicated to Latina women filmmakers. After that event, she and Navarro began asking a question they couldn’t shake: Was there anything like it in the Inland Empire? “We thought, do we have one in the Inland Empire? I don’t think we do,” Navarro said. “That we know of,” Lapizco added, saying they researched and didn’t find an Inland Empire film festival built as a women-centered competition with submissions and awards. Naming the festival came next. Lapizco said the word “Ella” — Spanish for “she” — emerged after she and Navarro saw a mural in Los Angeles’ Fashion District welcoming people in multiple languages. “That’s the idea, right? That’s the goal,” Lapizco said, describing a longer-term vision for signage that reflects “she” and “her” across many lanFilm Fest, cont. on next pg.