North County has 6 Distinguished School Award winners

By: ANDREA MOSS, ADRIENNE AGUIRRE and ADAM KAYE - Staff Writers | Wednesday, April 20, 2005 12:47 AM PDT ∞

Six North County high schools won major bragging rights Tuesday when they were named the 2005 recipients of the prestigious California Distinguished School Awards.

The highly sought-after awards are bestowed annually by the state Department of Education on California's top-performing public schools. Area recipients this year include high schools in the Escondido, Poway, Ramona, Julian and San Dieguito districts.

Ramona High School was one of just 12 high schools statewide singled out for state awards for exemplary career technical education.

Two schools in the Escondido Union High School District won awards: Escondido and Orange Glen. The honor marked major turnarounds for the campuses, which struggled with declining test scores for several years before that trend was reversed. Escondido High won a dramatic improvement award from the state earlier this month for the school's achievement.

"I think it's the result of a lot of hard work on the part of a lot of people, particularly the teaching staff," district Superintendent David Hughes said. "But we have mostly just been doing what we've always been doing ---- focusing on the things that kids need to learn, we're paying attention to the state standards, and providing a lot of professional development to help teachers be as effective as they can possibly be."

Now in its 20th year, the Distinguished School Awards program honors elementary and secondary schools in alternate years. Campuses must be in the top half of the state's test-score rankings to be considered.

This year's awards focused on middle and high schools. A news release from state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell's office said that, of nearly 2,300 public middle and high schools in California, less than 465 were eligible to apply for "distinguished" status.

Of those, 288 submitted applications. Each went through a rigorous selection process that included site visits by review teams, often composed of local educators authorized by the state to do assessments.

Statewide, 192 schools were deemed worthy of this year's Distinguished School Awards, with 11 of those coming to San Diego County campuses.

In Encinitas, word of San Dieguito Academy's accolade brought smiles to campus officials Tuesday morning, but administrators were away at an all-day meeting and therefore unable to share the news with students, Principal Don Rizzi said. He also noted that the school had not received formal notification of the award.

Instead, Rizzi said he heard about it by e-mail from a trusted source: his wife, Karen Rizzi, an assistant superintendent for the Escondido high school district. Congratulations came from an Encinitas Union School District administrator and further confirmation from a reporter's telephone message, but as of Tuesday afternoon, no word had arrived from the district office, he said.

"We'll patiently wait," he said.

Rizzi said distinguished school reviewers gave a perfect score of 8 on the academy's application.

On the other side of North County, officials in the Ramona Unified School District were celebrating. Ramona High Principal Steven Petsche said his school's dual awards reflect its continued commitment to being truly comprehensive.

"I think our board of education has tried keeping a balance that serves every student," he said. "We are excited and proud."

The school's career technical education program focuses on such vocations as automotive, computers and agriculture. Petsche said the school's test scores continue to climb along with the personal growth of the students and skill development of the teachers. The school recently won six state championships for its technical programs, five of which were for its automotive program.

The Poway Unified School District also had reason to be proud Tuesday, with the announcement that Mt. Carmel High School in Rancho Penasquitos had won the award. The school is one of 32 in the district.

"We're very pleased and proud of what Mt. Carmel has been able to do over the years," said Superintendent Don Phillips. "Mt. Carmel has excelled academically. ... They've done a marvelous job with the diverse population it has ... they've excelled in sports and their music program is excellent."

Phillips said the high school provides a very positive environment for the students, fostered by dedicated teachers.

"There's a strong sense of community and there's a strong commitment from the staff," he said. "(This award is) a wonderful affirmation for a school."

In Escondido, officials emphasized how important the awards are for Escondido and Orange Glen high schools.

Escondido High was tagged as an "underperforming" school by the state four years ago because of its test-score problems. An intensive effort by the school's staff turned the pattern around, Principal Steve Boyle said.

"I would say (the latest award is) a validation of the work that we've been doing and that students have been performing," he said. "It feels good that others are seeing the work that we're doing, and recognizing it."

Orange Glen High School's low test scores earned it a place on a federal list of failing schools at one point. The campus was taken off the list after posting two consecutive years of improved scores.

"The staff here is just really focused in on making certain that we take kids from wherever they are when we get them and we move them along," Principal Dianna Carberry said. "They've worked incredibly hard on doing so."

Distinguished School Awards come with no money, but winners receive plaques and Distinguished School flags to fly over their campuses. This year's honorees will be formally recognized at a May 20 awards ceremony and dinner at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.

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