SANTA MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

PRESS RELEASE

 

CONTACT:                                                        FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Suzanne Webb (310.393.9227 x 554)                 20 APR 2009

Dr. Mark Kelly (310.457.6801 x277)

 

LINCOLN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND MALIBU HIGH SCHOOL NAMED CA DISTINGUISHED SCHOOLS

 

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is proud to announce that Lincoln Middle School and Malibu High School are two of 261 secondary schools that have been selected as 2009 California Distinguished Schools, an annual award that recognizes some of the state’s exemplary public schools.

 

“I am pleased that Lincoln Middle School and Malibu High School are being recognized for their hard work in closing the achievement gap,” remarked Superintendent Tim Cuneo.  “It takes a team of committed teachers, support staff, and administrators to achieve such distinguished recognition.  The Board of Education and I are most appreciative of each school's dedication and commitment to the success of all children.”

 

“The accomplishments of Lincoln Middle School and Malibu High School show the community the strength of our public schools in educating all of our students,” praised Board President Ralph Mechur.  “We couldn't be more proud of the individual and team efforts to reach this milestone.”

 

The list of 136 middle schools and 125 high schools may be viewed at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/cs/disting2009.asp.

 

State Superintendent of Schools, Jack O’Connell, stated in a press release dated yesterday that, “…these extraordinary middle and high schools have shown they are able to increase the achievement of all their students and have provided evidence that they are closing the achievement gaps that, unfortunately, exist at many schools. The Distinguished Schools program always identified schools that are leaders in academic achievement. It now also recognizes schools that are leaders in helping all students succeed, and highlights the best practices that are effective in closing the gap."

This year, the selection process required schools to provide an in-depth description of two "signature" practices implemented at the schools that are replicable, and directly related to the success of their students. During an intensive site visitation by a trained team of external educators, additional evidence about the effectiveness of the "signature" practices was gathered and analyzed.

The selected middle and high schools represent about 10.9 percent of California's nearly 2,400 middle and high schools. Of those, only 341 schools met the eligibility criteria based on their student achievement and were chosen from 170 school districts in 46 counties. An awards ceremony honoring the Distinguished Schools will be held Friday, May 29 at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. The Disneyland Resort is a major corporate sponsor of the event.  

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SANTA MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

1651 16TH Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404

ph: 310.450.8338; fax: 310.581.1138

www.smmusd.org