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Schools

Walnut Middle School Receives Award From State Supe

By the Walnut Valley Unified School District

South Pointe Middle School in Walnut was named by California school officials as a 2013 Exemplary Arts School.

The WVUSD School is among the first to be selected for the new state award, officials said. South Pointe is one of the 13 schools that received the 2013 Exemplary Arts Program Award.

State Superintendent Tom Torlakson recognized 19 public schools, which are also 2013 Distinguished Schools, with two new state Exemplary Program Awards for their successful and innovative efforts to promote either the arts or physical activity and nutrition.

“We are fortunate to have a staff dedicated to ensuring our students are prepared for their future. The cross-curricular connections of the Arts enhance learning and provide rigor while instilling a joy that students carry with them for a lifetime,” said Susan Arzola, principal at South Pointe Middle School.

The school offers an integrated technology program, award-winning academics and performing arts programs combined with Project Lead the Way--Engineering and the 2013 implementation of Bio Med, officials said.
The Exemplary Arts Program recognizes schools that, in addition to high academic achievement indicated by their Distinguished School qualifications, have committed time and resources to broad-based arts education programs that strengthen students’ creativity and encourage their personal interests.
Schools selected for the Exemplary Arts distinction have demonstrated school and community support for standards-based arts programs across multiple disciplines.

'If we want our students to succeed inside and outside the classroom, they need an education that takes the ‘whole child' into account," said Tom Torlakson, California state superintendent of public instruction. "Encouraging creativity and good nutrition and physical activity are just some of the ways these schools are working to accomplish exactly that."

Aaron Castrejon contributed to this article.

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