Not so long ago, Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda and Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School in Northridge shared an unenviable distinction: Both had been officially branded as under-performing schools.
On Tuesday, having shed that stigma, they rejoiced in a new designation as California Distinguished Schools, among 192 middle and high schools in the state so honored by state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell.
"We're on cloud nine," said Alan Weiner, the principal at Cleveland, which exemplifies both the challenges and untapped potential of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
In all, six L.A. Unified schools were among those designated as distinguished -- hardly a sweep for the state's largest district, with 750,000 students and more than 130 middle and high schools. The much smaller San Ramon Valley Unified School District in the San Francisco Bay Area, with just 21,000 students and 10 middle and high schools, had seven of them on the distinguished list, more than any other district in the state.
The California Distinguished School designation is based on a variety of criteria intended to measure academic success. Schools not only must raise the test scores that form the basis of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, but also must do so among all major racial and ethnic groups. The schools further must demonstrate that they are safe and foster "healthy behaviors" in students.
Secondary schools are chosen for the distinction every other year, alternating with elementary schools.
This year, 463 schools had test scores that made them eligible to apply for the honor. Of those, 288 applied and roughly two-thirds of those were chosen. Mary Gomes, a consultant for the California School Recognition Program, said not all schools want to take the considerable time and effort to apply, particularly if they are in the midst of some other form of assessment or accreditation.
Predictably, many of the schools chosen this year are in relatively affluent communities and don't confront the challenges facing poor, urban schools. The San Ramon district, which serves wealthy bedroom communities in Contra Costa County, teaches predominantly white, affluent students who are native English speakers. Fewer than 300 students in the district qualify for free or reduced-price lunch -- many times fewer than could be found in a typical urban high school.
By contrast, several of the L.A. Unified distinguished schools, including Cleveland High and Holmes Middle School, reflect the difficult realities of public education in much of urban America. Roughly two-thirds of Cleveland's student body and more than half of Holmes' are classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged. Both schools are predominantly Latino and have a significant percentage of English-language learners.
Until two years ago, Cleveland was designated as under-performing under No Child Left Behind. Holmes had been similarly designated by the state about five years ago, when it qualified for a $350,000 grant to improve its academic performance.
Both schools improved test scores dramatically and had particular success among Latino students, raising their scores under the 1,000-point Academic Performance Index by more than 100 points in three years.
"It's a team effort," said Barbara Mecka, principal at Holmes. "Having a vision that students can learn, supporting what happens in the classroom, raising expectations."
*
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Go to the front of the class
Southern California school districts listed by county and the schools that have been designated as distinguished:
Los Angeles County
ABC Unified
Martin B. Tetzlaff Middle
Alhambra Unified
Mark Keppel High
Antelope Valley Union High
Highland High
Covina-Valley Unified
Northview High
South Hills High
Traweek Middle
Culver City Unified
Culver City High
Downey Unified
West Middle
El Monte City Elementary
Durfee School
Garvey Elementary
Richard Garvey Intermediate
Glendale Unified
Anderson W. Clark Magnet High
Crescenta Valley High
Hacienda La Puente Unified
Los Altos High
Las Virgenes Unified
Arthur E. Wright Middle
Calabasas High
Long Beach Unified
Charles Evans Hughes Middle
Hill Classical Middle
Wilson Classical High
Los Angeles Unified
Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High
Grover Cleveland High
Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle
Palisades Charter High
Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies
The Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies
Monrovia Unified
Clifton Middle
Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified
Palos Verdes High
Redondo Beach Unified
Nick G. Parras Middle
Rowland Unified
John A. Rowland High
Rincon Intermediate
San Marino Unified
Huntington Middle
San Marino High
Torrance Unified
Bert M. Lynn Middle
Calle Mayor Middle
West High
Walnut Valley Unified
Diamond Bar High
South Pointe Middle
Walnut High
West Covina Unified
West Covina High
Wiseburn Elementary
Richard Henry Dana Middle
*
Orange County
Anaheim Union High
Oxford Academy
Western High
Capistrano Unified
Dana Hills High
Don Juan Avila Middle
Las Flores Middle
Tesoro High
Fullerton Joint Union High
Fullerton High
Sunny Hills High
