SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced California's nominees for the 2004-05 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) — Blue Ribbon Schools Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). For the list of nominees, please visit 2005 Award Winning Schools - Blue Ribbon Schools

"I congratulate these outstanding schools that were selected to represent California in this prestigious national program," said O'Connell. "They have proven that motivated staff, hardworking students, and involved parents can add up to continued improvement and a high standard of excellence."

The NCLB — Blue Ribbon program allows states to nominate schools that show dramatic growth and high achievement. The winning schools are considered to be national models of excellence.

O'Connell nominated 35 schools, the maximum allowed, that are in the top half of the state and have met Academic Performance Index (API) growth targets as well as federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements.

This is the third year of the newly redesigned Blue Ribbon program that allows both elementary and secondary schools to compete in the same year rather than in alternate years, as traditionally had been the case.

The program includes two categories:

1. Mandatory Category: Schools must have a student body of at least 40 percent disadvantaged students, achieve at least at the 60th percentile on a nationally normed test, show API growth over three years, and have met 2004 API growth targets. About a third of California 's nominees fall within this category.
2. Optional Category: Schools must be in the top 10 percent of the state regardless of demographics, have shown the most API growth over three years, and have met 2004 API growth targets. About two-thirds of California 's nominees are in this category.

All schools, regardless of category, must have met 2004 federal AYP requirements and must meet them again in 2005.

The NCLB — Blue Ribbon Schools Program is open to both public and private schools. Private schools are nominated by the Council for American Private Education.

After a school is nominated, it will receive an invitation from the USDE to apply. The application, which consists largely of achievement data rather than narrative descriptions of school elements, is due at the USDE in February. Schools that meet the USDE criteria and that meet 2005 AYP will be named Blue Ribbon Schools next September by the U.S. Secretary of Education and will be honored at a ceremony in Washington D.C.

Each state is designated a number of schools it can nominate based on the number of schools and K-12 students in each state. California , with more than 6 million public school students, is allowed the most nominations at 35. Since there is no limit on how many of the nominees nationwide can be selected under the NCLB program, it is possible that all 35 California nominees could be named Blue Ribbon schools.