California Business for Education Excellence (CBEE) recently announced its 2013 Honor Roll, an annual list of California’s highest performing public schools. The 2013 Honor Roll includes public schools recognized for demonstrating consistently high levels of student academic achievement, improvement in achievement over time, and reduction in achievement gaps.

Meadows, Oak Hills, Pico Canyon, Stevenson Ranch, and Valencia Valley Elementary Schools in the Newhall School District were named as “Scholar Schools.”  Scholar Schools are high performing schools without significant levels of low income students. 

Dr. J. Michael McGrath, Newhall, and Wiley Canyon Elementary Schools were named as “Star Schools.”  These schools have high percentages of students who live in poverty, yet they continue to perform at high levels and close the learning gap between groups of students. 

“We always look forward to the CBEE’s annual list of outstanding schools because at one time or another every school in Newhall has appeared on the Honor Roll,” said Brian Walters, President of the Governing Board of the Newhall School District.

In his announcement of the honors, James S. Lanich, Ph.D., President & CEO of CBEE stated, “After an extensive analysis of student achievement data for every public school in California, these schools stood well above the rest in raising their students to grade-level proficiency and beyond.  It is for that reason we have named them a 2013 California Business for Education Excellence Honor Roll School.”

Over time, CBEE has identified a common set of success factors in higher performing Honor Roll schools and districts. These include high expectations for all students; ongoing collaboration among teachers to improve practice; targeted use of data to pinpoint challenges and monitor progress; continual intervention for struggling students; and mastery of content knowledge and pedagogical practices.

“Our teachers and principals have all the attributes that CBEE looks for and they collaborate for student success,” said Marc Winger, superintendent of the district. “We always look forward to the release of this list because we know our teachers’ and principals’ efforts will be recognized among the statewide group of highest performing schools.”

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