Schools recognized for closing achievement gaps
Title I, Distinguished Schools awards showcase best practices
Published: May 1, 2012
As the end of the school year approaches, hundreds of California public schools have been singled out as examples of how to raise academic achievement among economically disadvantaged students.
2012 California Distinguished Schools: These 387 California public elementary schools have innovative and rigorous educational programs that are proving successful at closing achievement gaps. Schools cannot apply for the honor on their own initiative; the California Department of Education selects those eligible to apply after test scores and Academic Performance Index rankings are published in the fall.
The program focuses on elementary schools in even-numbered years, with secondary schools recognized in alternate years. The schools selected after a site visit and other validation receive a plaque and flag that identifies them to the community as a Distinguished School.
The winning schools have agreed to serve as mentors and to share their signature practices later this spring in a searchable database located on the CDE website. The database can be searched by location and school, interventions employed—the “signature practices” that have successfully targeted specific student groups for increased academic success—or student subgroup characteristics.
Title I Academic Achievement Awards: These honors went this year to 117 schools that have exceeded their federal “adequate yearly progress” targets for two or more years or significantly closed the achievement gap among numerically significant subgroups. Their achievement is quite a feat at a time of multiyear budget cuts, said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.
“The progress being made at these schools, which serve our neediest students, should serve as a beacon of hope for California,” he said. “Their accomplishments prove the value of investing in our schools.”
2012 Model Attendance Improvement Programs: “Even the best teacher can’t help students who don’t make it to school,” state Superintendent Torlakson noted in announcing the 11 school districts recognized as model attendance and dropout prevention programs by the State School Attendance Review Board. Speaking of the districts’ own SARBs, Torlakson said, “These review boards are proving that there are highly effective strategies for improving attendance and reducing the dropout rate.”
2012 Model Continuation High Schools: Twenty-five schools from among the state’s 504 continuation high schools were recently recognized by the California Department of Education. These model schools have “gone the extra mile to help kids get the education they deserve and need to succeed in life and careers,” Torlakson said.
Easy links: