Countywide : 4 Elementary Schools to Vie for U.S. Honors

Orange County has four of the 47 public elementary schools nominated in California for national recognition, state Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig said Tuesday.

Honig said the U.S. Department of Education, for the first time this year, is honoring the best lower-grade schools in the nation. The department for many years has picked outstanding high schools around the country for national recognition.

The national awards program will now shift to recognizing elementary schools one year, and outstanding high schools the next, Honig said.

Orange County’s four elementary schools nominated by Honig this year for federal honors are Harbor View Elementary, Newport-Mesa School District; Imperial Elementary, Orange Unified School District; O’Neill Elementary, Saddleback Valley Unified School District, and Greenville Fundamental School, Santa Ana Unified School District.

Education officials in Washington will review the nominations from all the states, visit the campuses of finalists they select and then announce the winners in mid-June.

Honig said he is especially pleased that the national program is being extended to the elementary level.

“I am delighted to recognize these outstanding schools and their staffs and to submit their names for national recognition,” Honig said. “These schools are shining examples of quality education in California, and they will serve as excellent models for other elementary programs in the state.”