Valley View gets second look at Distinguished Schools award
Simi school is one of only 3 in the county to earn honor
By Miguel Morales miguel@theacorn.com

Just two weeks after receiving high grades on the state's Academic Performance Index, Valley View Middle School was selected for its second California Distinguished School award Monday, a distinction that recognizes the state's most exemplary public schools.

Terry Webb, principal at Valley View, announced the school's accomplishment over the intercom at the end of the day as students were finishing up in their homerooms.

Shouts of celebration were heard as each classroom was rewarded with a giant candy bar.

"This award is validation for all the hard work we've done," Webb told the Acorn. "It just goes to show that there is always something more to be striving for."

Each Distinguished School had to undergo a thorough validation process- - including an onsite inspection- - by the California Department of Education and the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association.

Webb said she considers the school's recognition a testament to such effective and creative curriculum as Valley View's student portfolio project, where students themselves put together examples of their best works from each class.

All the schools in Simi deserve to be recognized for their efforts, but not all of them are eligible to apply for state recognition, said Bill Waxman, director of secondary education for Simi Valley Unified.

A strong core curriculum and multiple learning support services for students who are English language learners, who have physical or learning disabilities, or who have not yet reached proficiency are just a few of the requirements.

Only 7 percent of all schools who apply receive the Distinguished School award, Waxman said, so the competition is very tough.

"The fact that Valley View was chosen a second time to receive this most prestigious award speaks for itself as to the efforts the school has made to maintain its standards," he said.

Schools from 132 districts in 35 counties made up the 2,400 California applicants considered for the award, but the California Distinguished School title was given to only 171 middle and high schools.

Valley View, the sole recipient in Simi Valley, will hold the distinction until 2011.