On Friday, our 4 elementary schools that have been recognized as 2010 California Distinguished Schools officially received their plaques and designation from California Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O’Connell. It was especially gratifying to have our own California Teacher of the Year, Amber Carrow (Chemawa teacher), announce each of our four schools. It is always good when we have others recognize the great work and performance of our teachers and school staff. The California Distinguished School Award process is much more rigorous than in earlier times. The process starts with a “nomination” based on performance data, which is followed by an “application” from the school describing their “signature practices.” That application is reviewed and a smaller number of schools are selected for “validation visits” where CDE representatives come to your school for the day to review and validate the substance of those identified practices. Finally, there is a subsequent selection of the California Distinguished Schools. This year, there is a comprehensive listing of signature practices (from California Distinguished Schools) from across the state by various attributes – which provides a mechanism for sharing best practice.
Congratulations to the school, parents, students, and staff of each of our 4 California Distinguished Schools:- Benjamin Franklin Elementary
- Mark Twain Elementary
- George Washington Elementary
- Woodcrest Elementary
It was a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by passionate teachers! Thank you to the staff, parents, and students who made our Distinguished School Award possible.
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