It’s something most parents whose children attend Hollow Hills Fundamental School have long suspected: the school is the best around. But now it’s official. Hollow Hills recently was named a national Blue Ribbon School.

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings last month announced 295 schools out of the nation’s thousands would receive the prestigious academic award. Thirty-four of the schools are in California.

A school is eligible for the award if 40 percent or more of its students are considered disadvantaged and show a dramatic improvement on state tests, or if the students at the school score in the top 10 percent on state tests.

Hollow Hills falls into the latter category.

Principal Aldo Calcagno, who took over the post this fall, credited the former principal for the award.

“(Barbara Patten) deserves all of the credit for doing this. She was here for the previous five years,” he said.

Patten is now principal of Vista School.

This is the second time Hollow Hills has received the Blue Ribbon award. Seven years ago schools could nominate themselves, but since then the award has become much more difficult to attain, Calcagno said.

The award criteria and process was changed in 2002 to align with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. It’s now at least a two-year journey for a school to be eligible for the national award. The first step is to win the California Distinguished School Award.

A school must be invited to apply by the California Department of Education (CDE) if its students have shown years of steady academic improvement. Elementary schools are eligible one year, secondary schools— high schools and middle schools—the next.

A CDE committee reviews the school’s application, after which a team of educators from across the state visits the school to ensure the claims are valid. Their recommendation is crucial.

Hollow Hills was among the six Ventura County elementary schools to win the award last year.

Then the CDE determines which schools to nominate to the U.S. Department of Education for the Blue Ribbon award. One of the standards they use is the school’s Academic Performance Index (API) score.

The 2005 API score for Hollow Hills was 22 points higher this year than last. However, winning the state honor and high API scores doesn’t entitle the school to an automatic Blue Ribbon nomination. States are selective since they’re limited in the number of schools they can recommend. And ultimately the federal agency decides who it will invite to apply.

Of the half dozen Ventura County schools to receive the state honor last year, only Hollow Hills Fundamental and an elementary school in Ventura got the invitation.

Becky Wetzel, director of elementary education for the Simi Valley Unified School District said many schools chose not to apply at this point, because of the time and effort one or more teachers must devote to filling out the application.

After submitting an application, the school undergoes scrutiny by yet another committee.

“It’s a very tough road to go,” Wetzel said.

The Blue Ribbon award is valid for four years.

“It’s a very prestigious award to get,” said Wetzel. “It makes you very proud of the efforts parents, students, teachers and the principal put into getting to that point. . . . It’s a very collaborative effort.”

Calcagno and kindergarten teacher Janet Lipman will travel to an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. next month to be presented a plaque and the Blue Ribbon flag.

See related story on page 19.