SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell  congratulated 31 public schools and four private schools in California identified today by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings as 2006 No Child Left Behind (NCLB)—Blue Ribbon Schools. For a list of the public schools, please visit 2006 Award Winning Schools - Blue Ribbon Schools. For a list of private schools, please see the attachment.

"I nominated these schools last year for this national distinction because their students made significant gains in academic achievement,” said O'Connell.   "Everyone involved in these students' lives deserves credit for helping them make these gains that we hope will ultimately help students develop the mastery of skills necessary to be successful adults."

NCLB—Blue Ribbon Schools is a national recognition program of the U.S. Department of Education. The 23-year-old program encourages states to nominate public kindergarten through grade twelve schools that are either academically superior or demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. Private schools are nominated by the Council for American Private Education.

Schools must fit one of the two following categories:  The schools' student body must be comprised of 40 percent or more disadvantaged students whose level of proficiency places the school at the 60th percentile in English-language arts and mathematics in the highest grade tested when compared to other schools in the state. For all other schools, the school must show a student proficiency level that places the school at the 90th percentile in English-language arts and mathematics in the highest grade tested when compared to other schools in the state.

All public school awardees met the federal 2005 and 2006 Adequate Yearly Progress and the Academic Performance Index schoolwide growth targets. The schools were either California Distinguished Schools or, at minimum, met the qualifications required to apply for that state awards program. Nominated schools submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Education. The weight of the criteria rested overwhelmingly on growth and achievement in reading and mathematics over three years, including those for significant subgroups. 

The winners will be honored November 9-10, 2006, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.  For more information on the NCLB—Blue Ribbon Schools Program, please visit Awards - No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program [http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/awards.html] (Outside Source).

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Attachment

NCLB—Blue Ribbon Schools for 2006
Private Schools