Chino Hills elementary's innovative enrichment programs helping entire families succeed

CHINO HILLS, California (KABC) -- In celebration of this back-to-school season, ABC7 is sending our Eyewitness News team back to the campuses that shaped their childhoods.

Litel Elementary School in Chino Hills has touched the lives of thousands of students since opening in 1987.

"It always felt like a safe space for me," ABC7 meteorologist Leslie Lopez remembered.

With her children hand-in-hand, Leslie recently got to see how the school is expanding its legacy of service.

During her tour, principal Samantha Han shared how a variety of before- and after-school programs at Litel are helping to bridge the gap for families across Chino Hills.

From music to robotics, students here can enjoy enrichment programs, snacks and other resources that are keeping them engaged and succeeding in the classroom.

"They have different clubs that teachers can offer or courses, because we know the importance of, it's not just academic learning, but that the students feel that they belong," Han said.

The best part: these programs are available at no cost to parents, thanks to the school's creative and strategic use of Proposition 28.

The measure, which was passed by voters in 2022, required the state to spend more than $900 million on arts and music education in every California public school.

Like any student entering elementary school, Leslie said she remembered the trepidation of those first days at Litel Elementary.

After 28 years in the district, Han said that feeling never really goes away. This is Han's first year as the Lions' new principal.

"I have nerves obviously coming into a new school, and the teachers also have nerves as we're meeting new students," Han said.

Of course, there are other things about Litel Elementary that haven't changed, either.

"We had the paw prints on the ground," Leslie pointed out. "They still do! Wow!"

After facing some great weather questions from Mrs. Steinbrink's fifth grade class, Leslie and her children stepped out into the sunshine, filled with gratitude.

"It was a gift to be able to give back to the place that once poured so much into my life," Leslie said.