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Mickey Mouse reward for top-notch school efforts
Booksin Elementary and River Glen Magnet make A-list of the state's top schools
By Chantal Lamers
Booksin Elementary and River Glen Two-way Bilingual Immersion Magnet school principals will be wearing their Mickey Mouse ears May 5, when they accept awards for making California's Most Distinguished Schools list.
The two principals will join 231 other elementary school principals from across California at Disneyland next weekend. The California Department of Education on April 10, released the names of 233 Golden State elementary schools after a long application process and school-site visits from judges.
A total of seven San Jose Unified School District elementary schools made the list this year. The award has a shelf-life of 10 years--only after that 10 years are schools eligible to reapply for the award.
Maureen Davidson, SJUSD spokesperson, said the U.S. Department of Education has been handing out these awards since 1985 and that the application process is excruciating. The program honors elementary schools and secondary schools in alternate years.
To make the A-list of elementary schools, Davidson said, the district hires an assistant to help guide principals through the application process. Each year the district's associate superintendent recommends certain schools to apply for the award. In the end, schools answer nine questions in a format the size of a telephone book.
The questions cover such things as school accountability, the role between community and school, and the administration's approach to continuing academic rigor.
Wendy Carlson, Booksin's principal, said the application process is complicated, time-consuming and detail-oriented.
Every elementary school in the state gets an application in the fall. Since Carlson was already planning to fill out an application, she assembled a team of teachers and parents during the summer. The team brainstormed over the summer, answering practice questions. Carlson said that when the real applications arrived, her team was ready to complete it by the December deadline.
After the December deadline, two judges from the department visited the campus to substantiate what was on the application.
Carlson said that at many of the schools the staff know they work hard, but no one ever sits down and puts it in writing. The principal said this award has confirmed what staff at Booksin believed all along.
This year, the California Department of Education received about 700 applications, a record during its 15-year history.
Delaine Eastin, state superintendent of public schools, said schools that made the list are committed to a superior standard of education.
"The schools we celebrate are a tribute to California. Parent participation, school staff commitment, professional development, community involvement and academic achievement are exemplary in these schools," Eastin said. "They are living proof of what is possible when people are committed to meeting high standards."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
