Tuesday, April 20, 2010

15 Make State 'Distinguished Schools' List


Record Number of Elementary Campuses Are on This Year’s State Department of Education List

Elementary schools from Pacific Beach to Scripps Ranch, from La Jolla to South Bay Terraces — throughout the San Diego Unified School District, were honored today by receiving 2010 California Distinguished School awards from the state Department of Education.

The schools on this year's list from San Diego Unified are: Barnard Mandarin Chinese Magnet, Bay Park, Bird Rock, Birney, Cadman, Chesterton, EB Scripps, Ericson, Foster, Jones, Loma Portal, Nye, Perry, Sequoia and Vista Grande.
 

"Our hard-working students, teachers and educational teams deserve all the credit for this recognition of their excellence in academics," said Bill Kowba, Interim Superintendent. "This is the largest number of our schools to be honored. That speaks highly of all the students, educators, staff and families in San Diego Unified."

The 15 elementary schools are the most in one year for San Diego Unified since the program began in the mid-1980s. Elementary and secondary schools are awarded in alternate years; in 2009, six middle and high schools were awarded.
 

Schools were evaluated based on their test scores from the state Academic Performance Index and federal No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress, as well as efforts to narrow the achievement gap among ethnic groups. Each school had to describe two signature practices that lead to a narrowing of the achievement gap and an increase in student achievement.

An awards banquet at Anaheim's Disneyland Hotel will be held June 4 for the 2010 California Distinguished Schools. More information is online.