The City Clerk’s Department put a creative new spin on the PATH (Progress and Accomplishments Through History) program last week, giving San Gabriel third graders a special treat with an education performance from talented puppet Officer Serra.

Officer Serra visited seven school sites in San Gabriel Unified School District to teach students about San Gabriel history and give them a taste of how the city government operates. In addition, a group of San Gabriel Mission High School students came to the Mission Playhouse and enjoyed a talk by Officer Serra as well as a facility tour. Finally, students got to watch a special video tour of the city, featuring, of course, Officer Serra.

The PATH program was developed in 1997, originally for fourth grade students, through a partnership between the city and SGUSD. In 2004, the program changed to be geared toward third grade students. This year, newly hired Chief City Clerk Gloria Molleda decided to put a new twist on the program to make it more interesting and engaging for young students.

Rather than the traditional PowerPoint presentation, Molleda and her team decided the puppet would make the program a bit more fun. In addition, City Clerk Administrative Assistant Jane Liu designed an interactive coloring and game booklet for the students to take home to continue their education about the San Gabriel community.

“We wanted to make it more interactiveand more kid friendly,” Molleda said. “The teachers told us this was the best presentation they’ve ever attended.”

For more information on the PATH program, contact Chief City Clerk Gloria Molleda at 626.308.2800, ext. 4601 or gmolleda@sgch.org.