Ventura County Schools Honored

Ten of Ventura County's middle and high schools have been honored with the California Distinguished School Award. The California Distinguished School Award is the highest honor a public school can be granted by the California Board of Education. The Distinguished School Award is bestowed by the California State Board of Education to the schools which best represent exemplary, well-rounded educational programs. Schools must meet a strict criteria based on California's Adequate Yearly Progress standards and Academic Performance Index, as well as federal educational standards under the No Child Left Behind Act. The Adequate Yearly progress is the system used by the California Board of Education to ensure schools comply with the No Child Left Behind Act. The Academic Performance Index is the system used to ascertain a school's performance and growth in academics.

The award-winning schools in Ventura County are:

Conejo Valley Unified School District
Colina Middle School
Los Cerritos Middle School
Redwood Middle School
Newbury Park High School
Thousand Oaks High School
Westlake High School

Oak Park Unified School District
Medea Creek Middle School
Oak Park High School

Oxnard Union High School District
Camarillo High School

Simi Valley Unified School District
Sinaloa Middle School

The California Distinguished School Award was granted to only 261 schools (136 middle schools and 125 high schools) in the entire state. An award ceremony will take place in the City of Anaheim on May 29, 2009.

Dave and Pat Zumbrun, The Z Team