Solid Foundations : U. S. Education Secretary Honors 3 County Schools as Exemplary

A back-to-basics school in Santa Ana, a Corona del Mar elementary school with a computerized learning lab and a Mission Viejo school that’s the focal point of its neighborhood have been selected among 270 nationwide as exemplary elementary schools.

The announcement was made in Washington on Monday by Education Secretary William J. Bennett.

The Orange County winners are Greenville Fundamental Elementary School, Santa Ana, part of the Santa Ana Unified School District; Harbor View School, Corona del Mar, Newport-Mesa Unified School District, and O’Neill School, Mission Viejo, Saddleback Valley Unified School District.

Ardys Heise, the San Diego education consultant who evaluated the schools for the federal agency, said that despite their diversity, the three public schools shared one vital characteristic--committed faculty and involved parents.

Of the 270 public and private elementary schools picked by the Department of Education as exemplary, 15 are in California, including the three in Orange County. In garnering 20% of California’s share, Orange County is showing its emphasis on education, said Orange County Schools Supt. Robert Peterson, noting that the county has only 10% of the state’s population.

“We’ve known for years that we have an excellent school here,” said Joan Ranney Sullivan, principal of Greenville, “but to be recognized from the national level will really bring a wonderful glow that we’ll all carry with us.”

‘Attitude and Cooperation’

Larry Alfred, principal of Harbor View School, said, “What makes us so successful is attitude and cooperation. We offer every kind of program possible--computer labs, learning centers.” Sullivan said, however, that staff and parental work was of prime importance. “If you don’t have the right person in there to motivate and stimulate the students, it’s not going to work,” she said.

In Mission Viejo, Waneta Norton, principal of O’Neill School, said, “The curriculum is pretty much mandated by the state and county; what makes it special is how it’s done.”

Norton said her staff works well together to create a good learning environment. She also said the school has “1,000% support from the community.”

The three schools submitted to a lengthy application process that required the completion of an 18-page questionnaire. Twenty-one California schools were then selected by the Education Department for an extensive on-site visit by independent educational consultants.

Heise, who visited each of Orange County’s three winning schools, said she was “not at all surprised” that the three Orange County finalist schools had been selected. She observed 10 classes and reviewed 10 academic areas specified by the federal program coordinators at each school.

“All three of the schools have a high degree of parental involvement, outstanding leadership on the part of the school principal and good teaching,” said Heise. “With those things coming together, it’s a winning situation.”

Heise said she was particularly impressed by Greenville’s approach, which emphasizes basics but also integrates material from the arts throughout its curriculum.

“O’Neill is one of those schools that is the heart of the community,” said Heise of the south county school. “The parents are together, and there is an outstanding principal.”

A government class at Harbor View School featuring mock congressional and presidential elections and Supreme Court rulings were also cited by Heise.

Despite the recognition, Heise said, “it is important to remember that the recommendation doesn’t mean the schools are totally excellent. They are exemplary programs,” she said, adding that physical facilities at some schools were lacking. “But to me these things do not affect what goes on in the classroom.”

Sullivan, who has been principal of Greenville since it opened in 1979, described the school as “having a tremendous emphasis on the three Rs.” The curriculum, which is heavily oriented toward written and oral language skills, reading and math, reflects Bennett’s desire to return to a basic-skills emphasis in the nation’s public schools.

The school accepts students living anywhere in the district, provided that they can arrange for transportation. There is currently a waiting list of about 300 at the 925-student school, which requires homework, even of kindergartners, Sullivan said.

Representatives of the three schools will join those from the other honored institutions at a recognition ceremony in Washington in September.

Secretary Bennett said the 210 public schools and the 60 private schools picked for national recognition “are as diverse as America itself. But they share a common attribute: They’re good schools; they provide their young students with a solid foundation for later life.”

Bennett launched the national program to honor outstanding elementary schools this year. His department three years ago began national recognition of outstanding high schools. Bennett said the federal government will now honor the outstanding elementaries one year and the high schools the next.

The other 12 elementary schools picked for the honor in California are Alamo Elementary, Alamo; Amy Blanc Elementary, Fairfield; Discovery Bay Elementary, Byron; Fort Washington Elementary, Fresno; Garden Gate Elementary, Cupertino; Lupin Hill Elementary, Calabasas; Melvin Avenue School, Reseda; Mendocino Middle School, Mendocino; Pioneer Elementary, Union City; Walter White School, Ceres; West Valley Elementary, Sunnyvale, and White Oak Elementary, Westlake.