Vallejo, Benicia grade schools win accolades

Vallejo, Benicia grade schools win accolades
By TONY BURCHYNS/Times-Herald staff writer
Posted: 11/25/2008

BENICIA -- For the fourth year, Matthew Turner Elementary School has been named one of the state's best.

Also, for the third time in four years, Benicia's Joe Henderson Elementary School, achieved the same honor.

Both public schools made the California Business for Education Excellence and Just for Kids-California's 2008 Honor Roll.

Five other Solano County schools were recognized.

This list, released Monday, can be viewed at cbee.org. The schools are listed alphabetically by county, and are not ranked against each other.

"The parents and staff work hard at all of our schools," said Benicia Unified School District Superintendent Janice Adams. "It's nice to be recognized."

The list includes 911 state public schools, recognized by California's business community for high student achievement or significant progress toward closing achievement gaps among students.

The 2008 Honor Roll consists of two different awards -- the Star Schools Award, for schools serving many low-income students, and the Scholar Schools Award, for those whose students aren't as disadvantaged.

Henderson and Turner won Scholar awards for their high student achievement levels.

Five other Solano County schools made the Scholar Schools list: Vacaville's Elise P. Buckingham Charter and Alamo and Orchard elementary schools; and Fairfield's Nelda Mundy and Suisun Valley elementary schools.

None of the county's high-poverty schools were recognized, though several Vallejo schools serving economically disadvantaged students showed major improvement on standardized test scores this year.

"We know from the success of these schools that it is possible for all schools to reach high levels of academic achievement ... ," said Jim Lanich, president of the California Business for Education Excellence, an education advocacy group that focusses much of its work on high poverty schools.

"By highlighting these schools ... we hope other schools can learn from these schools' proven best practices and acheive the same results," Lanich said.

Individual school and student subgroup data from California standardized tests and high-school exit exams were used to evaluate schools' academic performance.

Benicia High School, which made the Honor Roll last year, did not repeat the act this time.

E-mail Tony Burchyns at tburchyns@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6831.