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WINNERS - STATE HONORS AWARDED TO FOUR SANTA MONICA - MALIBU SCHOOLS

By Jodi Summers

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Sotheby's International Realty

July 24, 2014 08:01 AM

by Jodi Summers

Bravo! Four Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District elementary campuses have received the prestigious “Distinguished School” designation from the California Department of Education.

Franklin Elementary School, Point Dume Marina Science School, Roosevelt Elementary School, and Webster Elementary School were named as four of the 424 public elementary schools to receive the honor for 2014, announced State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

“The more I see of other elementary schools, both public and private, the more I realize how lucky we are to be at Franklin School,” writes one parent on Greatschools.org. “The teachers are outstanding. With the high level of parent involvement both in the class and financially this public school is still able to offer many programs that youusually see only in private schools these days.”

Here is how the winners performed on the state Academic Performance Index (API) - a single number assigned to each school by the California Department of Education to measure overall school performance and improvement over time on statewide testing. The API ranges from 200 and 1000, with 800 as the state goal for all schools.

With the 2014 announcement, Franklin and Webster are both two-time winners.

Franklin Elementary School

2400 Montana Ave.

Santa Monica, CA 90403

“This is Franklin Elementary School’s second California Distinguished School designation, our first award was in 2008,” praises Franklin Principal Tara Brown. “Everyone is absolutely ecstatic. I don’t think the designation changes the school, but gives validation to our amazing staff, students, parents and community for all of the hard work and effort that is made on a daily basis toward all students achieving academic excellence while narrowing the achievement gap.”

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Webster Elementary

3602 Winter Canyon

Malibu, CA 90265

Webster Principal Dr. Susan Samarge-Powell observes that the award honors the school. “The students, staff and parent community all contribute to the successes found at Webster,” she shares. ”It is a wonderful environment in which to learn.”

Roosevelt Principal Natalie Burton and Point Dume Principal Rebecca Johnson credit the collaboration between staff, parents and students for their success.

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Roosevelt Elementary

801 Montana Ave.

Santa Monica, CA 90403

“I am so proud that our students have flourished with such enthusiasm through our signature practices in math and English language arts,” applauds Principal Burton. “This exciting recognition is an honor for our entire Roosevelt community.”

One parent submitted this synopsis on www.GreatSchools.org, “Roosevelt is an amazing school with incredible, dedicated and responsive teachers who teach to the child, not the test, and an administration and staff whose dedication to the school is similarly amazing. The sense of community is remarkable and it's been a magical elementary experience. We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity for our kids to attend Roosevelt!”

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Point Dume Marina Science School

a.k.a. Point Dume Elementary

6955 Fernhill Dr.

Malibu, CA 90265

“I want to thank the students, staff, and parents,” said Johnson. “It is due to their continued dedication and extraordinary effort that this acknowledgment of PDMSS was made possible.”

“I applaud these strong, thriving schools that are making such impressive strides in preparing their students for continued success,” Torlakson said in a written statement. “This award is well-deserved by these school communities for their enduring dedication to high standards, hard work, and unwavering support.”

For the record, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is a school district headquartered in Santa Monica, California, United States. The district serves the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu. It has ten elementary schools, two middle schools, three high schools, an adult high school, and an alternative school.

Elementary schools

* Juan Cabrillo Elementary School (Malibu)

* Edison Language Academy (Santa Monica)

* Franklin Elementary School (Santa Monica)