Santa Ynez Elementary receives Academic Achievement Award

 

Two elementary schools in Santa Barbara County, including Santa Ynez Elementary from College Elementary School District, were named as 2007-08 Title I Academic Achievement Award winners on Dec. 11. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell listed 239 California schools as recipients for the award. They represent 113 school districts in 33 counties. The other school in Santa Barbara County is Aliso Elementary in the Carpinteria Unified School District.

“These outstanding schools have shown that with hard work and tight focus, the challenges of poverty, language, and socioeconomic background can be overcome,” O’Connell said.

 

“They have created high-quality, active learning environments where the achievement gap is closing and where all students are reaching the expectations of our state’s rigorous standards. In these schools, teachers and administrators work together to ensure that all students are progressing and moving toward graduation that will lead to more productive, successful lives. I am very proud of these schools, their accomplishments, and am pleased to honor them as Academic Achieving Schools.”

Scores at Santa Ynez Elementary showed the highest gain in the county for the 2006-07 Academic Performance Index. The result, released at the end of August, 2007, were up in all categories, including English-learners subgroup, up 71 points; economically disadvantaged, up 80 points; and Hispanic-Latino, increased 78 points to 815.

 

The index measures improvement in the schools, basing its scores on a scale between 200 to 1,000, and calculating results from Standardized Testing and Reporting examinations given to students in the spring.

This awards program recognizes only schools receiving federal Title I funds for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. The schools must demonstrate that all students are making significant progress toward proficiency on California’s academic content standards. These standards define the knowledge, concepts, and skills students are expected to acquire at each grade level.

 

The criteria to qualify for the award have become more rigorous each year. Title I schools must demonstrate the achievement level of twice the school-wide API growth target, meet all significant subgroup targets, and achieve twice the API growth target for the socio-economically disadvantaged subgroup for two consecutive years. Schools also must have made AYP for two years in a row, and at least 40 percent of the enrolled students in each school must meet the poverty index.

Title I is a part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and is the largest federally funded program in the country.

 

It is designed to improve the academic achievement of disadvantaged students. Of more than 9,000 schools in California, more than 6,000 of them are Title I schools.

Representatives from Santa Ynez Elementary and College Elementary School District will join the other 238 awardees to receive recognition at an award ceremony planned in conjunction with California’s Annual Title I Conference scheduled for April 21-22, 2008 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City.

The conference is a premiere staff development opportunity for administrative and instructional educators serving Title I students and for parents of these students.