State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces 2024 Civic Learning Award Schools

SACRAMENTO—Twenty-one California schools have been named recipients of the 2024 Civic Learning Awards, an honor that recognizes measurable schoolwide achievements in civics. The award program, now in its eleventh year, is co-sponsored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and California Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero.

“We know that when young people activate their voices, they can be among the strongest change agents in our communities,” said Thurmond. “Education is the cornerstone of realizing our democratic ideals, and these schools have made extraordinary contributions to building the leaders of tomorrow.”

“I find these award applications inspiring; they all deserve our recognition,” said Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero. “They tell the important stories of dedicated educators who are, despite the challenges, are creating room for students to fully understand and practice civics.”

The top three honorees receiving the Civic Learning Award of Excellence and receiving a visit from Chief Justice Guerrero this fall are:

• Madera Elementary School, Ventura County
• Natomas Pacific Pathways Preparatory Middle School and High School, Sacramento County
• John F. Kennedy High School, Orange County

Three schools earned a Civic Learning Award of Distinction, and their awards will be presented by a visiting judicial officer:

• Ida Jew Academy and Valle Vista Elementary School, San Jose, Santa Clara County
• Newton Middle School, Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County
• Yerba Buena High School, San Jose, Santa Clara County

Since their inception in 2013, the awards have been presented 519 times to traditional, charter, and magnet schools. In recent years, community schools and continuation schools have submitted high-ranking applications. This year, a court school applied for the first time.

Applications are reviewed and scored by a panel of judges that comprises representatives from the California courts and the California Department of Education (CDE) who are not tied to counties or districts in the pool. In addition to the information provided by the applicant, points are added for schools in districts with Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) that include terms and actions associated with civic learning. Applicants also earn points for participating in the Judges in the Classroom program and for creating processes and criteria related to the State Seal of Civic Engagement.

The following schools earned a Civic Learning Award of Merit:

Los Angeles County

• Workman Elementary School (Hacienda la Puente Unified)

Orange County

• Anaheim High School (Anaheim Union High School District)
• South Junior High School (Anaheim Union High School District)

Santa Clara County

• Daves Avenue Elementary School (Los Gatos Unified)

The following schools earned a Civic Learning Honorable Mention:

Fresno County

• Garfield Elementary School (Clovis Unified)
• Tarpey Elementary School (Clovis Unified)
• Maple Creek Elementary School (Fresno Unified)

Los Angeles County

• Sierra Vista Middle School (Hacienda la Puente Unified)
• Sparks Middle School (Hacienda la Puente Unified)

Orange County

• Santiago Charter Middle School (Orange Unified)

Riverside County

• Norte Vista High School (Riverside Unified)

Sacramento County

• Cordova High School (Folsom-Cordova Unified)

Santa Clara County

• Santa Clara High School (Santa Clara Unified)
• Mount Madonna High School (Gilroy Unified)

Tulare County

• Granite Hills High School (Porterville Unified)

The Civic Learning Awards began in 2013 and are part of the Chief Justice's Civic Learning Initiative , which is led by the Power of Democracy Steering Committee and includes other programs such as Judges in the Classroom. More information is available on the CDE Civic Learning Award for California Public Schools web page.

Additional resources to support civic learning and engagement are available on the CDE Resources to Support Civic Engagement web page and the CDE State Seal of Civic Engagement web page.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100