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Public Information - Press ReleaseRelease
Date: Immediate Stanley Elementary School Receives National 'Blue Ribbon' Nomination Stanley Elementary School in Garden Grove is one of 10 Orange County schools and among 35 in California nominated for the prestigious 2004 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools program. The nominees were announced Friday, Dec. 5, by Jack O’Connell, state superintendent of instruction. The program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) recognizes schools showing dramatic improvement and high student achievement. Stanley, for example, recorded significant growth in the state Academic Performance Index (API), a composite of test score results that ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1000. From 1999 to 2003, the school’s API jumped 178 points, from 636 to 814. The statewide target is 800. Schools qualify for Blue Ribbon honors based on meeting one of two standards: the school must have a student body comprised of at least 40 percent disadvantaged students, show dramatic improvement in test scores, and score at or above the 55th percentile in English and math tests; or be among the top 10-percent in the state in test scores and record the greatest improvement in the Academic Performance Index. Once submitted, the nominees’ applications will be screened using federal Blue Ribbon performance criteria. Final selections will be announced next September by U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. The weight of the Blue Ribbon applications rests almost exclusively on test scores – growth and achievement in reading and math over three years, including those for significant subgroups such a disadvantaged students and English-learners. For more information on the Blue Ribbon Schools Program, visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/index.html |