Four of Morgan Hill School District
’s elementary schools have been given the nod by the state that
they are in the running to become a California Distinguished
School, an honor that recognizes the excellence of a school’s
students, staff and administrators.
Four of Morgan Hill School District’s elementary schools have been given the nod by the state that they are in the running to become a California Distinguished School, an honor that recognizes the excellence of a school’s students, staff and administrators.
El Toro, Los Paseos, Nordstrom and Paradise Valley/Machado are the schools that have been identified by the California Department of Education. The schools were chosen based on the “No Child Left Behind” annual yearly progress report and last year’s Academic Performance Index (API) scores.
“The award is highly sought after by schools in all areas of the state,” Superintendent Carolyn McKennan said Wednesday. “Approximately 5 percent of California’s public schools are selected each year, and no fewer than 40 counties are typically represented. To qualify to apply for the Distinguished School Award is an exceptional honor and is a tribute to the hard work of the students, teachers and principals of these four schools.”
The schools will still have to go through an application and screening process. The applications are typically reviewed in January, according to Patricia Blanar, director of curriculum and assessment for the district.
“The exciting part is that four of our schools have the scores to get to this point,” Blanar said Thursday.
The schools will decide, Blanar said, whether to complete the application process.
“They are all going to the training to learn about the process,” she said. “But the application, the self-evaluation, that’s all something they’ve done as they prepared their school site plans.”
There is a chance, Blanar said, that the schools could be knocked out of the process when API scores are released in October.
“I asked (the state) why they didn’t wait until after October, but they said this was when they needed to start the process,” she said. “So the individual schools will have to decide if they want to go through the process before the scores are released … Of course, the process itself is a valuable one for the schools.”
Once the applications have been reviewed, Blanar said, representatives from the state Department of Education visit the site.
“This visit is just confirmation that what is on your application is truly what is happening at the school,” Blanar said. “They’re not looking to take you out at that point. Once you get to that screening process, that’s a pretty big step. They have looked at your application and said, ‘that sounds like a distinguished school program.’”
If the application does not make it through the review process, there is no site visit.
Encinal Elementary, which closed after the 2002-2003 school year and now houses the Charter School of Morgan Hill, was the first district school to receive the award. P.A. Walsh Elementary and Nordstrom Elementary have also received the award. Jackson Elementary not only received the state award but was also named a National Blue Ribbon School.
The California School Recognition Program was created in 1985 “to communicate and reinforce the priorities of the State Board of Education and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.”
Elementary schools and secondary schools are recognized in alternate years. If a school has received the award the previous rotation, it must skip one rotation before it is eligible for the award again.
