Congratulations are in order at Orange Grove High: the school's Lead to Empower Mentoring program has been honored with a Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association. In news shared by CNUSD on November 4, the recognition celebrates an all-male leadership group that helps young men build confidence, strengthen character, and contribute to their school and community.

For Corona neighbors, this is a lovely reason to pause and recognize students whose growth deserves attention, along with the adults making room for that growth. Behind the award is a local story about mentorship, service, and giving young people opportunities to see themselves as leaders.

What the district announced

In its Golden Bell announcement, CNUSD describes Lead to Empower as a program built around mentoring relationships, community service, and personal development. Its purpose includes helping participants recognize their abilities and use those strengths in positive ways.

The district credits students, staff, and mentors together. That shared recognition matters: a mentoring program depends on young people willing to participate and adults willing to invest their attention. The announcement emphasizes positive relationships and a supportive setting where students can practice leadership.

Orange Grove High is located at 300 Buena Vista Avenue in Corona. Readers can follow the school's official website for school news and contact information. The November announcement offers a welcome opportunity for the wider community to learn about work happening close to home.

What a Golden Bell recognizes

The California School Boards Association's Golden Bell program recognizes outstanding educational programs and governance practices across California's school districts and county offices of education. Its scope includes many ways schools support students, from classroom instruction to engagement and leadership opportunities.

CSBA's published selection criteria ask programs to demonstrate a meaningful difference for students, an innovative or exemplary approach, sustainability, and support connected to the school board's vision. Reviewers also consider whether the ideas can be used elsewhere. Those expectations give readers useful context for understanding the recognition.

For 2026, eligible programs had to be operating and have begun at least two years before the June application deadline. The award therefore recognizes established work. CNUSD's short announcement does not provide Orange Grove's application, judging scores, or specific outcome figures; those should not be inferred from the award alone.

A documented moment from the program's story

There is an earlier glimpse of Lead to Empower in the district's reporting. A March 28, 2024 school story describes participants visiting the district office the previous day and receiving a tour from then-Superintendent Dr. Sam Buenrostro.

During that visit, he discussed his personal and professional path, the work of district departments, and the responsibilities involved in leading a large school system. The district framed the visit as an opportunity for students to imagine leadership in their own futures.

It is a specific example worth remembering alongside the new award. Meeting someone who explains their route into a profession can give a young person more concrete questions to ask: What did you learn first? Who helped you? What did you do when a plan changed? Those are useful conversations for any family exploring what comes after high school.

Orange Grove's wider mentoring culture

Separate district reporting offers another example of adults sharing practical experience with Orange Grove students. In a June 2023 article, CNUSD described a maintenance mentoring effort involving 10 students and staff members working in carpentry, electrical work, painting, and HVAC.

That report described small maintenance projects used to build connections and teach hands-on skills, with mentors also sharing their own stories. It recorded a May 26 barbecue celebrating the participating seniors. These details belong to that earlier report; the new Golden Bell announcement does not establish that every earlier mentoring activity was part of the award-winning program.

Read together, the stories show several ways Orange Grove has made mentorship visible in its public reporting. They also remind neighbors that adults with many kinds of expertise can have something meaningful to share with students. A career conversation can begin with a practical task and grow into questions about responsibility, teamwork, and future possibilities.

AI-generated community-service illustration; not a documented Lead to Empower activity.

How families can celebrate student leadership

One thoughtful response to this news is to ask a young person about a moment when they helped someone else. It might involve explaining an assignment, welcoming a classmate, or following through on a shared task. Giving that answer your full attention is a small way to show that leadership can be noticed in everyday life.

Families can also ask students which adults help them feel comfortable asking questions. That conversation may reveal a teacher, counselor, coach, relative, or program mentor whose steady encouragement deserves thanks. A short, specific note about something helpful can be more meaningful than a broad compliment.

For readers interested in contributing professional knowledge or volunteer time, the respectful starting point is the school's office. Ask whether there are current opportunities, what approvals are required, and what support would actually be useful. This award announcement is not a recruitment notice, and no open volunteer role or donation drive has been confirmed.

Neighbors sharing the news can help by keeping the program name and school name together, linking the district announcement, and distinguishing the new recognition from older school stories. That gives friends and relatives a reliable place to read more. It also makes a congratulatory message useful: readers can see what is being celebrated and learn about the people contributing to it.

Keep the recognition centered on the students

Celebrating a school program does not require guessing about a student's personal history or speaking for them. Share the verified announcement, acknowledge the work, and let students and school staff decide which additional stories they wish to tell. Their accomplishments can stand on their own.

Congratulations to the Orange Grove students, staff, and mentors recognized through Lead to Empower. Corona has good reason to be proud of young people practicing leadership and the adults encouraging them. For more local school pride, see our CNUSD Literacy Bright Spots: Three Corona-Area Schools. If your school has a positive story to share, contact Corona Shoutouts. We welcome the chance to learn more, with care and respect for everyone involved.