NEWS RELEASE
12 San Diego Unified Schools Receive 2023 California Purple Star Designation
Schools recognized for efforts to support military families
February 10, 2022
San Diego—Twelve schools in the San Diego Unified School District have earned the 2023 California Purple Star distinction, joining a select group of just 59 schools throughout the state to receive the honor this year.
Now in its second year, the California Purple Star School program publicly recognizes schools that go above and beyond in supporting military-connected students and their families. The 2023 San Diego Unified Purple Star Schools are:
* Angier Elementary School
* Chesterton Elementary School
* Correia Middle School
* Crown Point Junior Music Academy
* Hage Elementary School
* Hancock Elementary School
* Jonas Salk Elementary School
* Loma Portal Elementary School
* Point Loma High School
* Sandburg Elementary School
* Taft Middle School
* Wangenheim Middle School
Military-connected students can expect to change schools between six and nine times from kindergarten through high school, or three times more often than non-military-connected children. As military-connected students transition between schools, often to different states and countries, they must adapt to varying cultures, school populations, curricula, standards, course offerings, schedules, and graduation requirements.
The Purple Star Program was designed to help mitigate these unique challenges by setting standards for and publicly designating military-friendly schools.
"San Diego Unified is proud to support our military-connected students and their families, and our schools are committed to meeting their needs by providing a high quality education," said Board of Education President Sabrina Bazzo. "The Purple Star designation is a testament to that commitment, and a reminder each day of the distinct privilege we have to serve those who serve our nation."
In addition to providing streamlined enrollment and graduation support for students moving in or out of the state, San Diego Unified partners with school liaison officers from the U.S. Navy and Marines, and has dedicated Military Family Life Counselors at several schools to better support military families.
"Congratulations to the incredible staff, educators, administrators, parents, and students at these schools," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said in the announcement this week. "These schools are examples of best practices in supporting our military-connected students, ensuring staff provide students with crucial academic, college, and career supports while their parents serve our country."
San Diego is home to one of the largest concentrations of military-connected personnel in the nation, and nearly 8,000 San Diego Unified students have a parent serving in the Armed Forces.
See the full list of 2023 Purple Star Schools here<https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr23/yr23rel08.asp>.
Contact: Communications Director Maureen Magee, mmagee@sandi.net<mailto:mmagee@sandi.net>.
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