According to the California Department of Education, to be eligible for 2010 Blue Ribbon award consideration, a public school must have:

•Met all 2008 Academic Performance Index (API) state targets and all Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) federal targets— those for the school overall and each numerically significant student subgroup.

•A 2008 Base API rank of 6 or higher

•Met all 2009 API and AYP targets.

•Had significant growth in the percent of students achieving proficient or advanced in English and math from 2005 to 2009. The growth is based on the performance of the students in the highest grade at the school.

—Michelle Knight