Two Conejo schools get Blue Ribbons
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

Two Conejo Valley Unified District schools made the list of the nation's 2006 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools.

Newbury Park High School and Redwood Middle School were among the 250 schools named last week by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.

Athol Wong, principal of Newbury Park High, credited the honor to several strengths in her school's community.

"We have a student body that's very high achieving and a staff dedicated to keeping them that way," said Wong, who also acknowledged former principal Max Beaman's leadership. "We have a caring and involved parent community. This is a result of that communication and that parents are interested in achievement. It happens that way."

The CVUSD schools were two of 35 honored in California.

Schools can achieve Blue Ribbon status in one of two ways. If a school claims at least 40 percent of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and there is a significant improvement in test scores, a school can be nominated. CVUSD nominations were based on the second qualification: the student body as a whole achieved test scores ranking in the top 10 percentile statewide.

"These schools show what wonderful accomplishments can be made when we focus on the bottom line in education-student achievement," Spellings said. "All of these schools have students from all subgroups who've made impressive test gains or who scored in the top tier on state tests."

"They are outstanding examples of how all students can achieve higher standards."

The list of 250 schools is just the first group to be selected in the 2006 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools Program. A second group will be announced in October.

The Blue Ribbon schools will be formally honored at a ceremony on Nov. 9 and 10 in Washington, D.C. Representatives from the schools are invited.

For more information on the program and the current list of schools, visit www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/awards.html.