211 Elementary Schools Garner Special State Honors
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First, schools complete a 30-page application detailing their proudest accomplishments, whether in rallying parental involvement, improving campus safety, training teachers or crafting an effective curriculum. High test scores help--but sometimes merely an upward trend will do.
School officials from across California ship the applications, by the hundreds, to the state Department of Education. Then they wait to hear if they have been anointed with a title that they can claim for two years: California Distinguished School.
The program, which began in 1985, honors elementary and secondary schools in alternate years. This was the year for the lower grades. So all 5,000 public elementary schools in the state were invited to apply, except those that won the last time. In the end, 598 schools sought the honor, and many were selected for visits by judges. The 211 winners, recently announced, will receive their awards--a plaque and a flag--during a ceremony May 22 in Anaheim.
Among those celebrating is Hidden Hills Elementary in Laguna Niguel, which opened its doors just four years ago, meaning that the school is younger than its own kindergartners.
Welby Way Elementary in West Hills, also a winner, has an automated weather service as part of a full weather station. The Los Angeles Unified school also has a fully functioning greenhouse and compost area to help students understand the growth of plants, vegetables and flowers. “We give children a chance to use creative skills,” said Principal Gigi Edler. “Instead of just reading about things, they are living it and doing it. We even tracked the El Nino storms with our weather service.”
At Ventura’s winning Poinsettia School, officials cite how, of 530 children in kindergarten through fifth grade, 380--or about 70%--have parents who work or volunteer at the campus, teaching astronomy classes, running fund-raisers and heading after-school programs.
“We love having the extra hands,” said Principal Nancy Bradford.
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