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Blue Ribbon honor given to 3 schools
By Jean Cowden Moore, jcmoore@insidevc.com
May 22, 2002
Three Ventura County schools have received National Blue Ribbon awards, an honor that brings no money but plenty of prestige.
The schools are Thousand Oaks High School and Colina Middle School, both in Thousand Oaks, and Chaparral Middle School in Moorpark.
Chaparral is the first school in the Moorpark Unified School District to receive the honor.
Principals at the three schools learned of the award from Sen. Barbara Boxer's office Tuesday morning.
When she got the call, Jo-Ann Yoos, principal at Thousand Oaks High, dashed down to district headquarters and broke the news to a room full of administrators and parents, who promptly burst into applause.
"My feet haven't touched the ground yet," she said.
The National Blue Ribbon award, given by the U.S. Department of Education, recognizes schools as among the best in the nation for academics, student activities, parent involvement, teacher training and safety. The award goes to secondary schools one year and elementary schools the next.
This year, 30 secondary schools in California received the honor.
Schools apply for the Blue Ribbon award by filling out long applications that document just about everything from what's happening in the classroom to access for the disabled. Schools that make the first cut in the application process then get a visit from a judge, who spends a day or two at the school talking to students, teachers and parents, and checking out classrooms.
The awards come at a time when President Bush is proposing some changes to the Blue Ribbon program. He has not specified what those changes will be.
The three schools that won the award this year all have high test scores, active student government groups and parents ready to step in to help with anything from raising money to fixing computers. They also work hard to meet every student's needs, offering a wide range of classes, as well as teaching methods.
"We do so much for so many kids in so many ways," Chaparral Principal Creig Nicks said. "We're never satisfied with good enough. We're always trying to be better."
The schools will receive their awards in November in Washington, D.C.
Copyright 2002, Ventura County Star. All Rights Reserved.