Three San Bernardino County-based schools earn National Blue Ribbons

Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
·4 min read
A group of San Bernardino County-based schools were among 297, including 29 schools in California, that were recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools.
A group of San Bernardino County-based schools were among 297, including 29 schools in California, that were recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools.

Three San Bernardino County-based schools were among 297, including 29 schools in California, that were recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools.

The schools recognized include Grapeland Elementary and John L. Golden elementary schools in the Etiwanda Elementary School District. Also, Richardson Prep Middle School in the San Bernardino City Unified School District.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona recognized the 2022 winners that drew recognition based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

Secretary Cardona made the announcement on Friday during his Road to Success Back to School bus tour.

The other California schools named as National Blue Ribbon Schools were:

  • Arcadia – Foothills Middle School, Arcadia Unified School District.

  • Belmont – Ralston Intermediate School, Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary School District.

  • Burlingame – Burlingame Intermediate School, Burlingame Elementary School District.

  • Cerritos – Carmenita Middle School, ABC Unified School District.

  • Cerritos – Wittmann (Helen) Elementary School, ABC Unified School District.

  • Clovis – Woods (Harold L.) Elementary School, Clovis Unified School District.

  • Diamond Bar – Diamond Bar High School, Walnut Valley Unified School District.

  • Dublin – Eleanor Murray Fallon School, Dublin Unified School District.

  • Dublin – Harold William Kolb School, Dublin Unified School District.

  • Fresno – Granite Ridge Intermediate School, Clovis Unified School District.

  • Irvine – Woodbridge High School, Irvine Unified School District.

  • La Mesa – Helix High School, Grossmont Union High School District.

  • Long Beach – Newcomb Academy, Long Beach Unified School District.

  • Orinda – Orinda Intermediate School, Orinda Union School District.

  • Pleasanton – Thomas S. Hart Middle School, Pleasanton Unified School District.

  • Rolling Hills Estates – Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District.

  • San Diego – Westview High School, Poway Unified School District.

  • San Dimas – Arma J. Shull Elementary School, Bonita Unified School District.

  • San Francisco – Lawton Alternative School, San Francisco Unified School District.

  • San Ramon – Coyote Creek Elementary School, San Ramon Valley Unified School District.

  • San Ramon – Gale Ranch Middle School, San Ramon Valley Unified School District.

  • San Ramon – Iron Horse Middle School, San Ramon Valley Unified School District.

  • San Ramon – Windemere Ranch Middle School, San Ramon Valley Unified School District.

  • South Pasadena – South Pasadena Middle School, South Pasadena Unified School District.

  • Valley Village – Colfax Charter Elementary School, Los Angeles Unified School District.

  • Van Nuys – Kester Avenue Elementary School, Los Angeles Unified School District.

“I applaud all the honorees for the 2022 National Blue Ribbon Schools Award for creating vibrant, welcoming, and affirming school communities where students can learn, grow, reach their potential, and achieve their dreams,” said Secretary Cardona. “As our country continues to recover from the pandemic, we know that our future will only be as strong as the education we provide to all of our children. Blue Ribbon Schools have gone above and beyond to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. These schools show what is possible to make an enduring, positive difference in students’ lives.”

With its 39th cohort, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has given out approximately 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools.

The National Blue Ribbon School award affirms and validates the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in striving for – and attaining – exemplary achievement.

Blue Ribbon Schools serve as models of effective school practices for state and district educators and other schools throughout the nation.

A National Blue Ribbon School flag gracing a school’s entryway or on a flagpole is a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning.

The department recognizes all schools in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:

  • Exemplary High-Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.

  • Exemplary Achievement Gap-Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.

Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year. The department invites nominations for the National Blue Ribbon Schools award from the top education officials in all states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education. Private schools are nominated by the Council for American Private Education.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Three San Bernardino County-based schools earn National Blue Ribbon