Riverside County Office of Education
3939 Thirteenth Street
Riverside, California 92501 | Map
(951) 826-6530
Indio Office
47-110 Calhoun Street
Indio, California 92201 | Map
(760) 863-3000
Murrieta Office
24980 Las Brisas Road
Murrieta, California 92562 | Map
(951) 600-5651
Governmental Relations Office 1121 L Street, Suite 807
Sacramento, California 95814 | Map
(916) 325-1162
Newsroom
Three Riverside County schools earn National Blue Ribbons
Three Riverside County elementary schools earned National Blue Ribbons this week: William Collier Elementary School in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District; Katherine Finchy Elementary School in the Palm Springs Unified School District; and Sundance Elementary School in the Beaumont Unified School District. Five schools in the county were nominated for the prestigious award. Only 21 schools in the state received the designation.
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Kenneth Young today (September 15, 2011) praised the selection of the Riverside County schools.
“These schools have worked hard to close the achievement gap and make sure all students are succeeding academically,” Superintendent Young said. “We know that they are providing the solid base of academic instruction and support students will need to stay in school, eventually graduate and become successful in college and the workforce. I congratulate the individuals involved in their success, including parents, teachers, staff, administrators and the students themselves.”
Young said the schools will be recognized at the upcoming Riverside County Education Summit Models of Excellence Awards luncheon on October 27, 2011, at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
Blue Ribbon Schools are honored at a national awards ceremony in Washington, DC in the fall, where each winner receives a plaque and flag. Blue Ribbon winners may fly this flag at their schools as a mark of excellence and a symbol of quality. These schools serve as examples of excellence for other schools throughout the nation. Details of their achievements are shared on the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site at www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/index.html.
For more information on California’s past winners, please visit the California Department of Education’s Web site at www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/br/.
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program (BRSP) recognizes elementary and secondary schools that are both academically superior and have demonstrated dramatic gains in student achievement, while serving an economically disadvantaged population of students. Schools recognized through the BRSP are national models of excellence for other schools to emulate. All of the 2011 nominees were either previous California Distinguished Schools or California Title I Academic Achieving Award schools.
In order for a nominated school to become a BRSP award winner, the school must meet also all of its 2011 Academic Performance Index and Adequate Yearly Progress targets, for the school overall and for each numerically significant subgroup, such as socioeconomically disadvantaged children, English learners, and children of color.
Because BRSP is part of the federal No Child Left Behind law, schools with a large population of disadvantaged students that have either shown dramatic improvement in student achievement from 2006 to 2010 or schools that have maintained a superior level of achievement from 2006 to 2010 are given priority for selection in this program. The U.S. Department of Education designates a public school as “disadvantaged” if 40 percent or more of the students: (a) participate in the National School Lunch Program; (b) have parents who did not earn a high school diploma; (c) receive Migrant Education services; or (d) are classified as English learners.
The U.S. Secretary of Education has administered BRSP for more than 25 years to recognize outstanding schools.
For information contact: Rick Peoples,
Public Information Officer
Telephone: (951) 826-6642
Fax: (951) 826-6199 rpeoples@rcoe.us
