State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Nominates
35 California Public Schools for National Honor
SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced the selection of 35 public schools as California’s nominees to the national 2010 No Child Left Behind (NCLB)-Blue Ribbon Schools Program (BRSP). The list of schools is attached.
"I congratulate all the Blue Ribbon nominated schools, and the staff, teachers, parents, and students who are succeeding despite challenges and economic adversity," O’Connell said. "By committing themselves to excellence and innovation, these schools are helping students make consistent academic gains and preparing them for success in the competitive global economy."
The BRSP recognizes elementary and secondary schools that are both academically superior and have demonstrated dramatic gains in student achievement, while serving an economically disadvantaged population of students. Schools recognized through the BRSP are considered national models of excellence. All of the 2010 BRSP nominees had previously been named either a California Distinguished School or a California Title I Academic Achieving Award school.
In order to be eligible for BRSP consideration, a California public school must have:
- Met all of its 2008 Academic Performance Index (API) state targets and all Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) federal accountability targets, including those for the school overall and for each numerically significant subgroup.
- A 2008 Base API rank of 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10.
- Met all of its 2009 API and AYP targets, including those for the school overall and for each numerically significant subgroup.
- Demonstrated significant growth in the percent of students achieving proficient/advanced in English-language arts and mathematics from 2005 to 2009. This growth is based on the performance of the students in the highest grade at the school. For example, in a kindergarten through sixth grade elementary school, this growth would be measured by comparing the performance of sixth grade students in 2005 to sixth grade students tested in 2009.
The nominations announced by O’Connell represent the first step in a process that is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Education. For final BRSP certification, a school must also meet all of its 2010 API and AYP targets, including those for the school overall and for each numerically significant subgroup.
Approximately, 72 percent of the students enrolled at the 35 schools certified today as BRSP nominees are designated as disadvantaged by the U.S. Department of Education criteria. Over the last five years, the 35 schools have, on average, increased the number of students scoring advanced or proficient in English-language arts and mathematics by at least 49 percent.
Since the BRSP is a component of the federal NCLB law, priority for selection is made for disadvantaged schools that have either shown dramatic improvement in student achievement from 2005 to 2009 or schools that have maintained a superior level of achievement from 2005 to 2009. The U.S. Department of Education designates a public school as disadvantaged if 40 percent or more the students either: (a) participate in the National School Lunch Program; (b) have parents who did not earn a high school diploma; (c) receive Migrant Education services; or (d) are classified as an English learner.
The BRSP is administered by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the program has recognized outstanding schools for more than 25 years. To obtain further information on the program and review a list of 2009 winners nationwide, please visit the U.S. Department of Education Web site: Awards - Blue Ribbon Schools Program (Outside Source).
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Attachment
2010 No Child Left Behind-Blue
Ribbon Schools Program Nominees
County | District | School |
|---|---|---|
Alameda | Oakland Unified | Lincoln Elementary |
Fresno | Sanger Unified | Centerville Elementary |
Fresno | Sanger Unified | Fairmont School |
Fresno | Clovis Unified | Jefferson Elementary |
Los Angeles | Glendale Unified | Benjamin Franklin Elementary |
Los Angeles | Los Angeles Unified | Franklin Avenue Elementary |
Los Angeles | Hawthorne School District | Hawthorne Math and Science Academy |
Los Angeles | Inglewood Unified | Highland Elementary |
Los Angeles | Long Beach Unified | International Elementary |
Los Angeles | Los Angeles Unified | Park Western Place Elementary |
Los Angeles | Los Angeles Unified | South Shores/CSUDH Visual and Performing Arts |
Los Angeles | Los Angeles Unified | Superior Street Elementary |
Los Angeles | Los Angeles Unified | Synergy Charter Academy |
Los Angeles | Bassett Unified | Torch Middle |
Los Angeles | ABC Unified | William F. Elliott Elementary |
Los Angeles | Little Lake City Elementary | William W. Orr Elementary |
Orange | Santa Ana Unified | Carl Harvey Elementary |
Orange | Buena Park Elementary | Gordon H. Beatty Elementary |
Orange | Capistrano Unified | Richard Henry Dana Elementary |
Orange | Garden Grove Unified | Sunnyside Elementary |
Riverside | Lake Elsinore Unified | Withrow Elementary |
Sacramento | Sacramento City Unified | Camellia Elementary |
Sacramento | Sacramento City Unified | Capitol Heights Academy |
Sacramento | Sacramento City Unified | Earl Warren Elementary |
San Bernardino | Apple Valley Unified | Sycamore Rocks Elementary |
San Bernardino | Victor Valley Union High | University Preparatory |
San Diego | San Diego Unified | Jones Elementary |
San Diego | San Diego Unified | Kearny School of Digital Media and Design |
San Diego | San Diego Unified | Kearny School of International Business |
San Diego | Chula Vista Elementary | Otay Elementary |
San Diego | San Diego Unified | Preuss School UCSD |
Santa Clara | Alum Rock Union Elementary | KIPP Heartwood Academy |
Shasta | Enterprise Elementary | Lassen View Elementary |
Sonoma | Two Rock Union | Two Rock Elementary |
Tehama | Evergreen Union | Evergreen Middle |