NEWS RELEASE: SD Unified Leads State With Three Blue Ribbon Nominees: Torrey Pines, Standley, Kearny Business

NEWS RELEASE from the San Diego Unified School District, December 21, 2012

SD Unified LEADS STATE WITH THREE BLUE RIBBON NOMINEES: TORREY PINES,
Standley, Kearny Business

SAN DIEGO -- Torrey Pines Elementary, Standley Middle School and the
School of International Business at Kearny High School have been nominated
for Blue Ribbons from the U.S. Department of Education, making San Diego
Unified the only district in California with three nominees.

The trio were in a group of 35 submitted by the state Department of
Education. Nominees generally receive the awards, which are generally
announced in the fall by the U.S. Department of Education.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and non-public
elementary, middle, and high schools where students achieve at very high
levels and/or where the achievement gap in narrowing. The Program sets a
standard of excellence for all schools striving for the highest level of
achievement.

"We're proud of the accomplishments of these three schools and grateful to
state Supt. Tom Torlakson for sending their nominations to Washington,
D.C.," said Bill Kowba, San Diego Unified's Superintendent.

Part of a larger U. S. Department of Education effort to identify and
disseminate knowledge about best school leadership and teaching practices,
the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has, since 1982, been part of the
U.S. Department of Education effort to showcase schools where students
attain and maintain high academic goals, including those that beat the
odds.

San Diego Unified was the only district in California with three schools
nominated. The only other district in the state with two nominees was the
Los Angeles Unified School District. Schools apply to the California
Department of Education, which then selects up to 35 schools to nominate
to the U.S. Department of Education.

Ten San Diego Unified schools have been honored over the years with a Blue
Ribbon, most recently 2010, when the School of Digital Media and Design at
Kearny High and Preuss UCSD charter picked up the prize. For more
information on the Blue Ribbon winners, go to
http://www.sandi.net/Page/33040.

Schools can receive the Blue Ribbon if they are:

-- Exemplary High-Performing Schools: Schools that achieve at least the
85th percentile statewide in the percent of students scoring proficient or
advanced in English-language arts and mathematics on the state
assessments. Schools nominated in this category may or may not have at
least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

-- Exemplary Improving Schools: Schools with at least 40 percent of their
students from a disadvantaged background that are also among the top 10
percent of schools in the state showing the greatest improvement in the
percent of students scoring proficient or advanced in ELA and mathematics
on the state assessments over the last five years.

For more information on the program, go to the state Department of
Education website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/br/.

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Jack Brandais | Communications Department | San Diego Unified School
District | (619) 725-5570 (Desk) | (619) 607-0477 (Cell)

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