Distinguished School Nominees - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education):
"O'Connell Nominates Two California NCLB Title I Schools for National Honor"
SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced the nomination of two California public schools for the 2009-10 National No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Title I Distinguished Schools Recognition Award.
The California schools are the American Indian Public Charter School in the Oakland Unified School District, Alameda County; and Camino Elementary School in the Camino Union Elementary School District, El Dorado County.
"I am proud of both of these schools for beating the odds through a genuine respect for education and a true belief in their students," O’Connell said. "The American Indian Public Charter School is a remarkable place that holds clearly expressed high expectations for all students. Camino Elementary School maintains a tradition of rigorous instruction and high achievement."
Each state may nominate two schools, one in each of two categories: (1.) for having the greatest percentage of students at or above the proficient level for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in English-language arts and mathematics, and, (2.) for making the most progress in closing the achievement gap among numerically significant subgroups. These subgroups consist of students who are poor, minorities, disabled, or have limited-English proficiency.
The American Indian Public Charter was nominated as the California Title I school with the greatest percentage of students at or above the proficient level. Camino Elementary was nominated as the California Title I school with the most success in closing the achievement gap between its student groups.
The two California schools will be recognized January 21–24, 2010 in Washington, D.C. at the National Association of State Title I Directors annual conference. National Association of State Title I Directors will honor the 57 Title I schools that have been nominated by 36 states. The award has been given since 1996.
The American Indian Public Charter School is a locally funded charter middle school serving students in grades six through eight. Nearly 98 percent of its students come from a minority background and more than 95 of its students live in poverty. Yet the school has outstanding student achievement. For five consecutive years, the school has been named as a Title I Academic Achievement Award School. For more information about the American Indian Public Charter, please visit
American Indian Model Schools (Outside Source).
Camino Elementary serves kindergarten through grade eight students in a one-school district in rural El Dorado County. About 43 percent of its students live in poverty. Camino Elementary School provides a family-centered environment dedicated to academic success for its diverse student body. Camino Elementary has been recognized as a 2002 California Distinguished School, and is the winner of the 2002 Early Intervention for School Success Award for Innovation. For more information about Camino Elementary, please visit
Camino Union School District (Outside Source).
Both schools were nominated based on their 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic achievement data. California has about 6,000 Title I schools.
Title I is the largest federal-aid program in K-12 education with more than $14 billion awarded annually through formula and discretionary grants. Title I funds are used to improve the education of all students in high-poverty Title I schools. Since 1965, the Title I program has served more than 150 million children in need of extra academic support in reading, writing, and math.
The Title I program, a part of the federal NCLB law, is designed to give academically at-risk children equity and access to a high-quality education in order to reach proficiency on state content standards as measured by state academic assessments.
The Title I Distinguished School Program is sponsored by the National Association of State Title I Directors, and is designed to recognize outstanding Title I schools that are considered to be national models of excellence.
