Ten local schools were honored by the California Business for Education Excellence with inclusion on the 2010 Honor Roll.

The schools were among 1,165 schools on the list and are being recognized not only for their accomplishments, but so that other schools can learn and replicate the best practices of Honor Roll schools.

The Honor Roll is made up of two different awards, Star Schools (430 schools) and Scholar Schools (735 schools). Unlike any other school recognition program, CBEE Honor Roll schools are selected by carefully analyzing individual school subgroup performance data.

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CBEE Star Schools have a high poverty, high minority student population. While these schools face significant challenges, they are making tremendous progress bringing students to grade level proficiency and closing achievement gaps.

Named as CBEE Star Schools were Mitchell Community Elementary School in the Sulphur Springs District and J. Michael McGrath and Wiley Canyon Elementary Schools in the Newhall District.

CBEE Scholar Schools are also consistent high academic achievers and should be recognized for their hard work. Scholar schools do not have the added challenge of closing achievement gaps, and in particular do not have a significant population of students in poverty.

Named as CBEE Scholar Schools were Oak Hills, Stevenson Ranch and Valencia Valley Elementary Schools in the Newhall District; Bridgeport, Charles Helmers and Tesoro del Valley Elementary Schools in the Saugus District and Rancho Pico Junior High School in the William S. Hart High School District.

“Our schools focus on student achievement and our teachers and principals are dedicated to the cause. They make these kinds of awards possible through their hard work and skill,” said Marc Winger, superintendent in Newhall. “Every year when the CBEE list comes out we have Newhall Schools on it. It’s very validating of the work we do.”

“These schools are the bright spots of excellence in efforts to raise student academic achievement and close persistent achievement gaps,” said Kirk Clark, president of CBEE. “By highlighting them, recognizing their achievement and giving them a voice we hope other schools can learn from these proven practices and we can begin to duplicate their success to scale throughout the state.”