Olive Peirce Middle School Eligible To Apply for Distinguished School Award

Ramona Unified School District Superintendent Robert Graeff announced Monday that the California Department of Education has named Olive Pierce Middle School one of the state's 155 secondary schools which are now eligible to apply for the coveted Distinguished Schools Program Award for 2013.

Needing to achieve very rigorous marks in STAR testing last spring to meet all schoolwide and sub-group targets, the school has survived Round One of the awards process, Graeff said.

California Distinguishes Schools Program consists of certain requirements of schools' API scores:

• Schools must meet or exceed the schoolwide 2012 Growth API target: middle ≥820; high ≥ 782.
• Schoolwide 2012 Growth API must meet or exceed the school's growth target. 
• All numerically significant subgroups must make their growth targets.

This year, Olive Peirce Middle School grew its API by 12 points to a 2012 score of 855.

Graeff said that just achieving the data benchmarks alone for the Distringuished School Program is a great tribute to the school in that it shows how much can be accomplished with planning, leadership, and dedication by staff, parents and students.

According to the state's website, "the 2013 Program directly focuses on California’s students and their entitlement to an equitable and rigorous education. The California Distinguished School Award identifies and honors those schools that have demonstrated educational excellence for all students and progress in narrowing the achievement gap."

Olive Peirce will now move on to the next step of winning the award: writing a comprehensive application for the final selection process.

According to the state website, the winners of the award will be announced in late March of 2013. Regional ceremonies celebrating the distinguished schools will be in April or May of next year.

Good luck OPMS! Ramona is rooting for you!