Schools

White Hill Middle Leads Five Marin Schools in Nabbing California Distinguished School Honor

Fairfax school is one of 218 in state and 5 in Marin County to win distinction.

White Hill Middle School is one of five Marin middle schools to garner state honors today, getting listed as one of 218 public middle and high schools to gain status as a California Distinguished School.

"It's exciting for our school and our district," White Hill Principal David Finnane said. ""And it's obviously a tribute to the hard work of our staff that's been done not only last year but over the past several years."

Tom Torlakson, state superintendent of public instruction, on Thursday saluted the honored schools, including White Hill and four other middle schools in Marin, for their strong commitment and innovative approaches to improving student academic achievement.

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“These schools have gone the extra mile to provide high-quality instruction that puts their students on the right path toward career and college,” Torlakson said. “Given the enormous challenges schools have faced in recent years, it is inspiring to see this kind of success in so many schools. Our future depends on meeting the needs of every student no matter where they come from or where they live.”

The 2013 California Distinguished Schools Program especially honors progress made in narrowing the academic achievement gap.

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Schools seeking the honor through the California Department of Education must meet a variety of criteria, including accountability measures.

“The application process consists of a written application, which includes a comprehensive description of two of the school’s signature practices, and a county-led site validation review process, which validates the implementation of those signature practices,” the state said in a news release.

The state says schools earning the Distinguished School title agree to share their “signature practices” with other schools and become a mentor to those seeking to replicate their work.

An updated searchable database of these practices will be available later this spring from the Department of Education.

Here is the current Signature Practices Web site.

White Hill chose math and special education as its two Signatures Practices areas, Finnane said. White Hill was also named a California Distinguished School in 2009.

Schools selected as California Distinguished Schools will be honored in May during regional award ceremonies where Torlakson will present each school a 2013 Distinguished School plaque and flag.

No Marin high schools were honored this year, though two local high schools, Tomales and Redwood high schools, were honored in 2011. The Marin middle schools honored were:

The state recognizes elementary schools in alternate years.

In March 2012, three Marin schools – Lu Sutton and San Ramon elementary schools in Novato and Sun Valley Elementary in San Rafael – were named California Distinguished Schools.

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