SCV SCHOOLS GAIN MERITS 11 CAMPUSES ACHIEVE CALIFORNIA 'DISTINGUISHED' STATUS.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Eleven Santa Clarita Valley elementary schools were recognized Wednesday as California Distinguished Schools in a competitive state program that identifies and honors some of the state's most exemplary and inspiring public schools.

Local schools accounted for about one-third of the 34 campuses honored in Los Angeles County. ``That tells us we've got great teachers, programs, an administration that supports them and parents groups,'' said Marc Winger, superintendent of the Newhall School District, where five schools were honored. ``You can't win this type of award without them,'' Winger said.

The state recognized five campuses in the Newhall School District - the most for any of the 93 districts in Los Angeles County.

School and district officials are particularly excited about the honor because when the state Department of Education announced the nominations in February, two of the district's five schools that applied were not selected.

But that decision was overturned after school officials at Newhall and Wiley Canyon elementaries appealed the results, bringing to the attention of state reviewers information they had missed in the initial review process that had resulted in their lower scores.

``There was no doubt in our minds that those schools would be selected as distinguished schools,'' said Newhall schools Superintendent Marc Winger. Out of 47 schools in the state that appealed decisions, only 12 were selected for site visits. ``We just needed to get those teams of reviewers there.''

Three schools in the Saugus Union School District were recognized for the award, two in the Sulphur Springs School District, and one at the Castaic Union School District.

``It's validation of what we knew about those schools already, that they have a learning community that is inclusive of all the various stakeholders including parents, teachers, support staff and students,'' said Saugus district Superintendent Judy Fish. ``And the learning environments are vibrant with student accomplishments, and that's a credit to the whole school community.''

The state named 30 finalists out of the 129 applications it received from the 1,169 public elementary schools in Los Angeles County.

The criteria for school selection focuses on all areas of the school's educational program, including academic expectations set for students, visionary leadership, teaching strategies, and a strong curriculum so that those selected are strong, well-rounded community schools.

Final winners will be announced before a statewide awards dinner May 24 at the Disneyland Hotel.

Each school will be given 10 seats to the event, so the Newhall district expects to go to the event with 50 people.

``While other districts may go with 10 people, we get to go with a delegation,'' Winger said, laughing.

HONORED SCHOOLS

-- Castaic Union School District

Castaic Elementary

-- Sulphur Springs School District

Mint Canyon Community Elementary

Sulphur Springs Community Elementary

-- Newhall School District

Meadows Elementary

Newhall Elementary

Peachland Avenue Elementary

Valencia Valley Elementary

Wiley Canyon Elementary

-- Saugus Union School District

Mountainview Elementary

Plum Canyon Elementary

Rosedell Elementary

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HONORED SCHOOLS (see text)