3 area schools celebrate

‘distinguished’ status

Delegations from Yosemite, Sierra highs and Mariposa attend presentation at Anaheim

 

by Earlene Ward

Yosemite High School District

 

 





State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin pauses with Yosemite High School Principal Steve Raupp and Bill McCabe, district superintendent, at presentation of California Distinguished School Award.

 

 












Delaine Eastin, state superintendent of public instruction, congratulates Sierra Unified School district Superintendent Don Witzansky, student Jessica Allen, and Sierra High School Principal Doug Jones upon receiving the California Distinguished School Award.

 






ANAHEIM— Three Moun­tain Area schools — Yosemite High School, Sierra High School and Mariposa Middle School — were honored last week as “the best of the best,” in the words of state Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin.

 

These three schools were among the 157 middle and high schools honored as California Distinguished Schools for 2001 out of more than 300 applicants.

 

Less than 8% of the middle and high schools in the state earned this recognition.

Among the student groups entertaining the more than 2000 people who attended the awards ceremony at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim were the Yosemite High School Chamber Singers under the direction of Sean Mills, assisted by Ann White.

 

Mrs. Eastin later asked members of the YHS staff to convey her personal congratulations to the singers for an outstanding performance.

 

Schools become eligible to apply for Distinguished School status on the basis of student test scores. An extensive written application is submitted and judged by a panel of education experts.  Applicants must address a number of issues related to educational practices and opportunities, accountability and state standards.  Schools that receive high ratings on the written application become finalists. These schools are then visited by a team composed of people from their county office of education and local residents.  The visiting team members are familiar with the written application and they are looking for accuracy of the application. If the visiting team validates the application, the school is declared a Distinguished School.  Distinguished Schools be­come eligible to submit an application for National Blue Ribbon School status. That application is due later this year. 

 

Featured speaker at the Distinguished School Awards Ceremony was California’s First Lady, Sharon Davis.  “Students deserve the best, most comprehensive education we can give them,” she said. “These schools are some of the best the state has to offer,” she noted, referring to the Dis­tinguished Schools.  She described some of the programs her husband, Gover­nor Davis, has put in place to benefit education.  “Is there still room for improvement?” she asked. “Ab­solutely,” she answered. “Are we going to rest on our laurels? Absolutely not!”  Mrs. Davis concluded her comments by noting that “the people who benefit most from what we do are our students and they are our future.”

 

Mrs. Eastin, who is serving her second term as the state’s elected superintendent of public instruction, said the Dis­tinguished Schools are “inspiring and invigorating,” and that they are “the best of the best; a reason for hope.”  She said the Distinguished Schools are well-rounded community schools that “make exceptional efforts to help students.” Each of the honored schools is unique, she said, “there are no cookie-cutter schools here.”  She complimented the school and district administrators for their “bravery, tenacity and foresight. Leadership is the difference,” she said.  Leadership means taking risks, being courageous and asking the tough questions, she said. Questions such as “How can we make sure our students learn?” 

 

The schools that are designated as California Distin­guished Schools are blazing new trails, the state superintendent said. “They are all doing a remarkable job, setting the example, establishing a vision and a plan for every students’ success.”  As she addressed the school principals, district superintendents, teachers and school board members who attended the ceremony, she told them “Job One” has to be to close the gap between the highest and the lowest students, and that does not mean bringing the highest students down.  “Well-trained and caring teachers are the road to success,” she said. “Teachers, not programs, make the difference.”  She commented that everyone remembers a special teacher in his or her life. This special teacher is someone who believed in them and someone who cared.  Superintendent Eastin noted that 300,000 new teachers will be needed in the next 10 years. “The teacher shortage is the biggest stumbling block for all of us,” she said.  Four percent of the workforce is teachers, she said, and 39% of teachers leave the profession in the first five years.  Mrs. Eastin concluded her comments by telling the educators in the audience, “you inspire me every day. The most important job in the world is teaching. You are all heroes, all inspiring and all models.”

 

Distinguished School principals, accompanied by their district superintendent, accepted the award.   Principal Steve Raupp, ac­companied by Superintendent Bill McCabe, accepted for Yose­mite High School.  Principal Doug Jones, accompanied by Superintendent Dr. Don Witzansky, accepted for Sierra High School.  In addition to principals and superintendents, teachers, students, board members and other staff members represented schools. A total of 10 people could attend from each school.