Bird Rock and Pacific Beach elementary schools are among the eight schools to be awarded the title of 2006 Honor Roll School by the California Business for Education Excellence (CBEE) Foundation and Just for the Kids-California (JFTK-CA).
Schools receive this award through maintaining high student academic achievement and making important progress toward closing achievement gaps. Academic performance is evaluated through student subgroup performance and individual school data based on the California Standards Tests.
“Each year we try to get test scores up higher and higher,” Bird Rock Elementary Principal Beverly Candage said. “We are one of the highest performing schools in the district and kids have always come in with a great foundation.”
Candage said the parents play a tremendous role in the school’s success, along with student motivation and teachers’ skills.
Bird Rock’s teachers set expectations high and create a responsibility for student performance through multiple measures of assessments, she said.
Just relying on test scores is not enough to ensure students are reading at the appropriate grade level. Bird Rock’s students are closely monitored, and each month teachers meet with individual students to reset the needs of the kids with certain instruction.
While this is the first time Bird Rock has received the award since Candage became principal five years ago, this is the second time Pacific Beach Elementary has been awarded the title of Honor Roll School.
“This is a very prestigious honor for a Title I school to receive,” Pacific Beach Elementary Principal Sherry Turner said. “Title I schools are schools with poverty; a certain percent of students receive free and reduced-priced lunches.”
Both Pacific Beach and Bird Rock elementary schools strive to provide higher-quality education.
The schools are now putting more focus on fine arts and music ,and not just focusing on academics.
“We are striving for the overall student,” Candage said. “It is about the development of the whole child.”
The parents committee has helped to fund teachers that are experts in certain fields. The committee funds the physical education coach, art and music teachers and the computer technician.
The community plays a significant role in Bird Rock’s accomplishments. The school works with local businesses, and every July, the Taste of Bird Rock raises money to benefit the schools’ ability to hire expert teachers and provide for quality supplies and powerful facilities.
During the Taste of Bird Rock event, people walk from restaurant to restaurant along La Jolla Boulevard, and there are children’s activities, live music and more. Last year alone the school received a $15,000 donation and each year the school has seen an increase in funds.
With the increase in funding and community support alongside the rising in student test scores, these schools continue to reach for higher goals and maintain their excellence for the future.