Nothing but blue skies for these campuses

By: North County Times - Editorial | Wednesday, April 20, 2005 11:01 PM PDT ∞

Our View: Nine local schools were feeling a better kind of blue this week, earning the right to fly the state's blue flag of excellence for the next four years. We join the students, parents, teachers, administrators and support staff in celebrating their education achievements. We also note that the state honored schools of widely varying enrollments, adding perspective to the debate over campus size that rages in many districts throughout the region.

In North County, six campuses earned the 2005 California Distinguished Schools honor: San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas; Escondido and Orange Glen high schools in Escondido; Mt. Carmel High School in Rancho Penasquitos (of the Poway Unified School District); Ramona High School and Julian High School.

In Southwest Riverside County, Temecula Valley High School and Vail Ranch Middle School of the Temecula Valley Unified District were given top marks, along with Murrieta Valley Unified's Thompson Middle School.

Fewer than 465 of the state's 2,300 middle and high schools were eligible for the awards, based on standardized test scores. Those high achievers were subjected to a white-glove test of campus inspections and piles of paperwork to apply.

But these were no cookie-cutter success stories. Honored Tuesday were North County's smallest district-run high school, the 1,500-student San Dieguito Academy of the Encinitas Union School District, and two of its biggest: Escondido's Orange Glen High School, with 2,345 students, and the Broadway campus of Escondido High, bursting with 2,659 students this year.

Students, take note of the lesson the state's Department of Education has taught with this round of recognition: No matter what your surroundings and circumstances are, hard work pays off.

Now this cream of the educational crop gets a chance to upgrade from the state's blue flag to the blue ribbon symbolizing the nation's highest honor for schools. We wish them all well, and offer a hearty congratulations.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.