Diamond Bar, Walnut Schools Honored by Business Community

Thirteen schools in the Walnut Valley Unified School District were recognized by the California business community for demonstrating consistent high levels of student academic achievement.

Those named to the Honor Rolls “Scholar Schools” for 2011 by the California Business for Education Excellence were Castle Rock, Collegewood, C.J. Morris, Evergreen, Quail Summit, Maple Hill, Westhoff, Vejar, and Walnut elementary schools, Chaparral and Suzanne middle schools and Diamond Bar and Walnut high schools.

After an extensive analysis of student achievement data for every public school in California, these schools stood well above the rest in getting students to grade level proficiency and beyond, district officials said.

Schools received the official announcement on May 8. Each will also receive a large banner that can be displayed to announce their accomplishment, officials said.

“These schools are the bright spots of excellence in efforts to raise student academic achievement and close persistent achievement gaps,” said Jim Lanich, president of CBEE.

“By highlighting them, recognizing their achievement and giving them a voice we hope other schools can learn from them and replicate their proven practices throughout the state.”

The 2011 Honor Roll includes 1,614 public elementary, middle and high schools recognized for demonstrating consistent high levels of student academic achievement, improvement in achievement levels over time and reduction in achievement gaps among student populations. For High Schools, the Honor Roll recognition also includes measures of college readiness.

For the first time, the business community is recognizing a subset of the Honor Roll that has both high percentages of low-income students and high levels of math and science achievement, district officials said. These 100 STEM Honor Roll schools will receive special recognition of their accomplishments.

There are two award designations in addition to the STEM designation - the “Star Schools” Award (527 schools) and “Scholar Schools” Award (1,087 schools), officials said.

Since 2006 the Honor Roll increased from 304 high performing schools to an inspiring 1,614 high performing schools in 2011.

The annual Honor Roll award is made possible with support from numerous businesses and organizations including State Farm, Macy’s, Edison International, Wells Fargo, Southern California Auto Club, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the California Business Roundtable, and several private foundations. Chevron Corporation provided specific support in the creation of the STEM Honor Roll.

You can learn more details about the Honor Roll and to find each school’s data profile at http://www.edresults.org/honorroll/honorroll11.