State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Announces
2010 Title I Academic Achievement Award Schools
SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced that 238 California schools have been selected for the 2009-10 Title I Academic Achievement Award. The list of recipients is attached.
"These award recipients prove that with hard work and high expectations, students can overcome challenges and achieve academic success," said O'Connell. "By working together, administrators, teachers, staff, students, and parents have raised student achievement and narrowed the achievement gap. I congratulate these schools and everyone who worked hard to make them deserving of this significant award."
The Title I Academic Achievement Award is given only to schools receiving federal Title1 funds as authorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Title I is the single largest federal educational program for K-12 public education. Title 1 funds assist schools in meeting the educational needs of students living near or at the poverty level. Of the more than 9,000 schools in California, more than 6,000 of them participate in the Title I program.
The criteria to qualify for the Title 1 Academic Achievement Award have become more rigorous in recent years. To meet the criteria for this distinction, the school must demonstrate that all students are making significant progress toward proficiency on California's academic content standards. Additionally, the school's socioeconomically disadvantaged students must have doubled the achievement targets set for them for two consecutive years. For more information about the Title I Academic Achievement Awards please visit the CDE Web page at: Academic Achievement Awards - School/Teacher Recognition.
O'Connell called the principal at each of the schools selected to receive the Title I Academic Achievement Award to convey the good news and express his own congratulations and gratitude.
"It is definitely worthwhile to personally give credit where credit is due," said O'Connell. "I wanted to let these school leaders know that their hard work has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated."
The 2009-10 awardees will be honored at a reception and banquet at the Disneyland Hotel on April 21, 2010. For more information about the California Title I Academic Achievement Award reception and banquet, please visit the California Department of Education Web site at Academic Achievement Awards - School/Teacher Recognition.