District Leads State With Three Blue Ribbon Nominees: Torrey Pines, Standley, Kearny Business

Torrey Pines Elementary, Standley Middle School and the School of International Business at Kearny High School have been nominated for Blue Ribbons from the U.S. Department of Education, making San Diego Unified the only district in California with three nominees.

The trio were in a group of 35 submitted by the state Department of Education. Nominees generally receive the awards, which are generally announced in the fall by the U.S. Department of Education.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and non-public elementary, middle, and high schools where students achieve at very high levels and/or where the achievement gap is narrowing. The Program sets a standard of excellence for all schools striving for the highest level of achievement.

"We're proud of the accomplishments of these three schools and grateful to state Supt. Tom Torlakson for sending their nominations to Washington, D.C.," said Bill Kowba, San Diego Unified's Superintendent.

Part of a larger U. S. Department of Education effort to identify and disseminate knowledge about best school leadership and teaching practices, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has, since 1982, been part of the U.S. Department of Education effort to showcase schools where students attain and maintain high academic goals, including those that beat the odds.

San Diego Unified was the only district in California with three schools nominated. The only other district in the state with two nominees was the Los Angeles Unified School District. Schools apply to the California Department of Education, which then selects up to 35 schools to nominate to the U.S. Department of Education.

Ten San Diego Unified schools have been honored over the years with a Blue Ribbon, most recently 2010, when the School of Digital Media and Design at Kearny High and Preuss UCSD charter picked up the prize. For more information on the Blue Ribbon winners, go to http://www.sandi.net/Page/33040.

Schools can receive the Blue Ribbon if they are:

• Exemplary High-Performing Schools: Schools that achieve at least the 85th percentile statewide in the percent of students scoring proficient or advanced in English-language arts and mathematics on the state assessments. Schools nominated in this category may or may not have at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

• Exemplary Improving Schools: Schools with at least 40 percent of their students from a disadvantaged background that are also among the top 10 percent of schools in the state showing the greatest improvement in the percent of students scoring proficient or advanced in ELA and mathematics on the state assessments over the last five years.

For more information on the program, go to the state Department of Education website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/br/.

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Farb Middle Retains AVID Demonstration Site Status

Farb Middle School has been validated for the second time as a National Demonstration Site for Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), a fourth grade through high school system that has turned thousands of underperforming students into confident, college-going scholars. Farb received high honors from the reviewers who revalidated the school for an additional 3 years.

The school, which is part of approximately 120 other AVID National Demonstration Sites, was revalidated through an application process, screening and review that included a site visit. AVID is implemented in more than 4,900 schools in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and 16 countries/territories and impacts more than 700,000 students in grades K-12 and in 28 postsecondary institutions.

"It is a tremendous honor to be selected as a demonstration site and to be revalidated for another 3 years," said Principal Susan Levy. "Our students and staff have implemented AVID with fidelity. We are proud of our AVID program, our AVID Coordinator, our teachers and our school as a whole."

AVID Executive Director Jim Nelson notes the significance of attaining demonstration site status.

"Schools chosen as demonstration sites have proven their ability to successfully implement the AVID academic elective course and take the strategies schoolwide to affect all students," says Nelson. “Farb Middle School” was selected as a National Demonstration Site because it has implemented the AVID system throughout the school and can serve as a model for new AVID sites."

AVID National Demonstration Sites were initiated in 1993 with a $250,000 award from the Charles A. Dana Foundation of New York. As part of the AVID National Demonstration Sites Network, sites are expected to develop a model program with schoolwide participation. With AVID’s proven methodologies used throughout subject area classes, performance levels improve for all students, but especially for those students who are the least likely to attend four-year colleges. Schools from around the world that are preparing to implement the AVID system will visit National Demonstration Sites, such as this one, to observe a highly evolved AVID system.

Levy is pleased that the school was revalidated as an AVID National Demonstration Site, noting the impact of the program on staff and students.

"It is a tremendous honor to be selected as a demonstration site and to be revalidated for another 3 years. Our students and staff have implemented AVID with fidelity. We are proud of our AVID program, our AVID Coordinator, our teachers and our school as a whole," Levy said. "AVID has helped the entire school improve student achievement, raise test scores, narrow the achievement gap, and maintain a college focus. Farb was able to attain an API score of 803 this year. AVID affects not only AVID elective students, but all students. We use AVID strategies and methodologies in all classrooms so that every one of our students benefits from a culture of high expectations and a college going culture."

For more information, please visit www.avid.org.

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