After receiving a $500,000 grant, the Career and Technical Education [CTE] program will implement additional resources and classroom renovations.

The admin informed Sonya Joyce, the Advanced Placement [AP] Computer Science Principal and Coding and Gaming teacher, that it was approved at the end of the last school year.

“I was really excited ’cause that’s a very large sum of money to put toward,” Joyce said.

The six-year grant, awarded by the Golden State Pathways Program, is expected to provide more computer science opportunities for students, such as dual enrollment with Fullerton College and create a student-run organization, Skills USA, so Lancers can compete and also have a national club. 

Assistant principal Sarah Murrietta said the grant was first awarded in October 2024 after applying in March 2024. However, the state paused the process and reevaluated the submissions. Later, in January 2025, the fund was reinstated to the program. 

Joyce said she applied for the grant after realizing the computers and furniture in the classroom were starting to fall apart, and she hopes to use the new ones for her classes.

“My students in [AP] Computer Science [Principles] and Coding and Gaming get the newest technology to help support what they’re learning,” Joyce said. “That’s always good, because it’s hard to work off of computers that can’t handle the high-quality games that we’re trying to create here, so it’s just good graphically.” 

Sophomore Jayden Park, who took AP Computer Science Principles last year, said the monitors were a little buggy, and he hopes the new monitors will be faster. 

“I was jealous because the room is huge compared to last year,” he said. 

Varsity Valorant player, sophomore Roland Andrada, said the computers were decent, but said the setup of the room led to problems.

“Our main issue of why we didn’t opt to practice in it frequently, like for League of Legends, was due to the ergonomic mouse shape, limited mouse space and the desks having an extra ‘layer’ to hold the monitor higher, which significantly dipped our performances when trying it out,” Andrada said.

The funds from the grant have already been used toward 38 new monitors and chairs, flooring and repainting, along with supplying the Coding and Gaming class with various materials:

• $105,000 for monitors, PC, keyboards and headsets 
• $48,000 for furniture
• $52,166 for removing walls
• $17,628 for wiring, power components, internet extenders and ports

Murrietta said since the spending deadline for the district is April, the school spent last spring with KN Builders and ICS designing and wiring the room to fit the desks and computers. 

The remodeling started during summer break and is still incomplete, but it is expected to take 8-12 more weeks, Joyce said. 

With the ongoing renovations, Joyce said she is temporarily using Room 42, which was now-retired math and computer science teacher Myra Deister’s classroom. 

KN Builders broke down the wall between Room 44 and Room 45, Algebra Center’s adviser Dorothy Cheng’s classroom, to expand Joyce’s classroom.

After using it for five years, Cheng moved from Room 45 to Room 46 when she was notified that her classroom would be part of the Coding and Gaming class during the last few weeks of the spring semester.

“One of my students, who also had class in Room 44, said he heard I was moving next door to [Room] 46 because the wall between [Room] 44 and [Room] 45 was being knocked down to make a double room for computer science,” Cheng said. “This was news to me, so I emailed the [Assistant Principal Instruction and Operations] APIO, who confirmed it was happening.” 

As of now, Cheng said she doesn’t expect any major changes in the Algebra Center room since the custodians moved all her furniture to her new classroom. Some differences include having whiteboards instead of a black bulletin board and brighter lighting. 

“I wasn’t thrilled about having to deal with moving, but at least it was just next door,” Cheng said. “I loved my neighbor of five years, Spanish teacher [Veronica] Deutsch, so in some ways it was sweet that I would be taking over her room as she was retiring.”

Senior Danielle Kim, the president of the Algebra Center, also said she didn’t notice any drastic changes at first.

“I didn’t really think much about it, and instead, I was just excited to start the new year,” Danielle Kim said. “It definitely threw me off when I had to walk over there for the first time for the new tutor training, and I almost walked into the wrong classroom.”

Still, Coding and Gaming class students are excited for the new, big room.

“The room is more spacious and comfy,” said sophomore Ethan Ahn, who is currently in the Coding and Gaming class. “The computers and keyboards are getting an upgrade, so I hope for a smoother and cleaner experience.”

eSports varsity Valorant player junior Austin Kim said he believes the renovation is a great opportunity for students to develop leadership skills and new friendships. 

“This revamp might change and impact our team on the communications side of our team,” Kim said. “We would be sitting next to each other and be able to feel the team synergy while playing against different teams with good quality equipment.”