How to resolve AdBlock issue?
On Tuesday, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced the California Distinguished Schools for 2011.
Included on the list of 97 California schools was Clear Lake High in Lakeport.
Lakeport Unified Superintendent Erin Hagberg said it's the first California Distinguished School award for the district.
“It's extremely exciting and I couldn't be prouder,” said Hagberg.
The highly sought after award, now in its 25th year, has recognized more than 5,300 exemplary California public middle and high schools since it began in 1986, the state reported. Elementary and secondary schools are recognized during alternate years.
“These schools are being recognized for attaining high levels of performance and sustained growth, and for making significant progress in closing the academic achievement gap,” Torlakson said. “Becoming a Distinguished School is a direct reflection of the dedication, hard work, and vision of each school's education community. They have succeeded despite a bleak economic environment and have endeavored to maintain their momentum and focus.”
The California Department of Education said this year's winning schools are to be found in areas ranging from rural communities to large cities, with most of the schools having significant populations of students living in poverty or learning English.
Clear Lake High is one of those rural schools, with 440 students, 25 faculty and five staff, according to Principal Steve Gentry.
Hagberg credited the achievement to several factors – outstanding instruction, the relationship that teachers maintain with students and collaboration among staffers that has not only helped Clear Lake High cope with a tough financial climate but continue to improve student performance.
“We've really tried to focus on what is essential to maintain in our district,” Hagberg said. “I think that the high school staff has to be credited for making those decisions.”
Gentry, Clear Lake High's principal since 1995 and a staffer since 1978, credited the school's remarkable students and excellent teachers for winning the award.
The California Department of Education reported that schools were identified for eligibility on the basis of their state Academic Performance Index and federal Adequate Yearly Progress results, which are school accountability models.
“You have to be moving in a positive direction for both of those numbers to be eligible,” said Gentry.
Clear Lake High School has had moderate increases in API scores since 1999, when California’s Public School Accountability Act created the current scoring system, the Lake County Office of Education reported.
When the school's API scores started to plateau after several years of increases, teachers and administrators worked together to create a system of incentives and teaching and testing strategies to address the issue, according to district officials.
In order to qualify to begin the Distinguished School application process, a school must have an API growth score of greater than 746, according to the Lake County Office of Education. Clear Lake High School far surpassed that with a 2010 API score of 790. The California average API score is 767.
“Clear Lake High School is very deserving of this recognition. This is difficult to achieve, and it is the result of a focus on student achievement,” said Tim Gill, senior director of Educational Services at Lake County Office of Education.
Once schools are determined to be eligible, they receive letters inviting them to apply, Gentry said.
The state required the applying schools to describe two “signature practices” that have led to an increase in student achievement and a narrowing of the achievement gap.
Gentry said the programs Clear Lake High listed were AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) and Project CRISS (Creating Independence through Student-Owned Strategies), the latter an instructional strategy for student engagement that gives teachers different strategies and tools they can use to help their students succeed.
A team of three people from the state then visited the school for a day on March 21 to validate the signature practices. Gentry said the team toured classrooms, and talked to teachers and students.
He said he got the news of the award on Tuesday afternoon, and informed the school's teachers at a Wednesday morning faculty meeting.
The 2011 California Distinguished Schools will be honored during an awards ceremony and dinner at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim on May 20, the state said. Gentry said school representatives may not be able to make the trip due to the cost.
As for a celebration at the school, Gentry said nothing is planned yet. However, he said after upcoming school testing is completed, he believes they'll put together an event.
Hagberg, who notified the Lakeport Unified School District Board of Trustees of the award on Wednesday afternoon, said she expects the board will discuss how to honor the school for its achievement at its Thursday evening board meeting.
Other winning schools north of the Bay Area included Sonoma County's Healdsburg Junior High and Santa Rosa High School, with the latter one of five schools statewide to earn the Exemplary Career Technical Education Program Award; Calistoga Junior-Senior High School in Napa County; Sierra Ridge Middle School in El Dorado County; Del Oro High School in Placer County; East Nicolaus High School in Sutter County; and Shasta County's Shasta Union High School in Redding, the state reported.
The California Department of Education said the schools winning the Distinguished School title this year have agreed to share their signature practices with other schools and serve as mentors to other educators who want to replicate their work.
Those practices will be included in a searchable database that will be updated and available later this spring at www.closingtheachievementgap.org/cs/ctag/print/htdocs/success_sig_search.htm.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews.
