California Business for Education Excellence recently announced its 2012 Honor Roll, an annual list of higher performing public schools. The 2012 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.

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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 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.

“These schools represent every school in Newhall,” said District Superintendent Marc Winger. “Our teachers and principals have all the attributes that CBEE looks for, and they collaborate for student success.”

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.

“We have schools throughout the state that are getting it right for all students and this should not be a secret,” said CBEE Chairman Greg Jones. “To ensure more of our schools succeed, we must change the conversation from being about fixing failing schools to one that focuses on replicating the success of schools like those on the Honor Roll.”

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