Conejo Elementary wins award

Conejo Elementary School was recognized at a recent board meeting of the Conejo Valley Unified School District for winning a Title I 2005-06 Academic Achievement Award.

The award, presented by the California Department of Education, recognizes Title I schools that double their Academic Performance Index (API) growth target for two consecutive years.

In 2003, Conejo Elementary's API score was 720. In 2004, their target API score was a 724; their actual score was 733. In 2005, the school's target was 743. Their actual score: 757.

Principal Bob Iezza was on hand May 23 to accept the award.

"We're fortunate to have a staff of very committed and very talented teachers and a tremendous support staff . . . that come to school each day genuinely believing that every child can and will learn," Iezza said. "This honor really goes to them."

Title I schools are those schools that have a large enough percentage of socio-economically challenged students to qualify under the No Child Left Behind Act to receive federal funding. This money is meant to assist students who are behind academically or at risk of falling behind.

The Title I program is aimed at helping low-achieving children in high-poverty areas. Conejo Elementary is the first of six Title I schools in the district to win this award.

Funds are used to support effective, research-based educational strategies that close the achievement gap between highand low-performing students and enable the students to meet the state's challenging academic standards. Title I-funded schools are either targeted assistance schools or schoolwide program schools.

Conejo Elementary was one of only 310 schools out of the 5,900 Title I schools in California to take home this honor. The state expects all schools to eventually obtain an API score of 800.

-Kyle Jorrey