Area Low-Income Schools Among State Honorees
By Niesha Lofing, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.
Dec. 11–Nine schools in the Sacramento region were distinguished Tuesday as being among the top performing low-income schools in the state, one of which was identified for a national award.
State Superintendent Jack O’Connell announced Tuesday that 239 schools statewide were named 2007-2008 Title 1 Academic Achievement Award winners, according to a news release by the state Department of Education.
The award program recognizes schools that receive federal funding for socioeconomically disadvantaged students and demonstrate that all students are making “significant progress toward proficiency on California’s academic content standards.”
The winning schools demonstrated that hard work and focus can help overcome socioeconomic challenges, O’Connell said.
“They have created high-quality, active learning environments where the achievement gap is closing and where all students are reaching the expectations of our state’s rigorous standards,” O’Connell said.
Sacramento City Unified’s West Campus High School was identified for the National Title 1 Distinguished School Award. The high school had the greatest percentage of students scoring at or above the proficient level in its Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) — the federal accountability model — in mathematics and English-language arts. Only one other school in the state received a national award.
The award criteria has become increasingly rigorous over the years and carries multiple requirements, including that schools achieve twice the Academic Performance Index (API) growth target for socioeconomically disadvantaged students for two consecutive years, made AYP for two years in a row and that at least 40 percent of enrolled students in each school meet the poverty index.
Title 1, the largest federally-funded program in the country, is part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
The nine schools in the Sacramento region that made the list of awardees are:
–Louisiana Schnell Elementary, Placerville Union Elementary School District, El Dorado County
–Sierra Elementary, Placerville Union Elementary School District, El Dorado County
–Loomis Elementary, Loomis Union Elementary School District, Placer County
–Camellia Elementary, Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento County
–Capitol Heights Academy, Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento County
–Golden Empire Elementary, Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento County
–Thomas Jefferson Elementary, Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento County
–Pony Express Elementary, Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento County
–West Campus High School, Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento County
The schools, along with the other awardees, will be recognized at a ceremony during the state’s annual Title 1 conference in April.
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