2 County Principals Receive Statewide Educator Awards Worth $25,000 Each

Two Orange County elementary school principals were among 12 educators in the state named Thursday to receive 1988 California Educator Awards of $25,000 each.

John Blaydes, principal of McGaugh School in Seal Beach, and Phillip Perez, principal of Paul Revere School in Anaheim, are among the outstanding educators picked for the prestigious awards this year, said Bill Honig, state superintendent of public instruction.

Another of the 12 award winners is Jaime Escalante, a math teacher at Garfield Senior High in Los Angeles whose phenomenal success in teaching students was documented in the movie “Stand and Deliver.”

Foundation Funding

The California Educator Awards, launched in 1987, are funded by the Milken Family Foundation of Los Angeles and administered through the state Department of Education. Criteria for selection include leadership abilities and commitment to excellence in education. Winners are picked by a committee representing school superintendents and the Department of Education.

Blaydes, 50, a Brea resident, was also named last fall as the California winner of the 1987-88 National Distinguished School Principal Award. He received his plaque in October from U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett.

Blaydes has been principal of McGaugh School, 1698 Bolsa Ave., Seal Beach, for the past five years. The National Assn. of Elementary School Principals said last fall that he was named California elementary principal of the year because McGaugh “has repeatedly received high scores for staff performance, curriculum development and student achievement.”

Blaydes said Thursday that he was “stunned” at winning a second major award in less than a year. “I was absolutely shocked.”

Asked how he will spend the award money, he said, “Well, I had a daughter who got married last summer, and so this will help alleviate some of those expenses. I really haven’t thought much about it, but one thing I definitely am going to do is take all the teachers and staff of McGaugh School out to dinner, in recognition of all the hard work they do.”

Perez, 34, has been principal of Paul Revere School, 131 W. Midway Drive, Anaheim, since fall, 1986. In his first year as principal of the school, it won a California Distinguished School award from the state Department of Education.

High Scores

Revere School also has consistently scored higher than schools of similar enrollment in the annual California Assessment Program scores. About 75% of the students are minorities, and more than 50% are limited-English speakers.

Perez, who lives in Yorba Linda, said, “We have a very high minority enrollment, but Revere School has learned to find ways to help our students, including with many bilingual classes.”

Perez said he was surprised at his award and has not decided how he will spend the $25,000. “The honor alone was sufficient to knock me over,” he said. “I really haven’t thought about plans for the money.”

The other nine California Educator Award winners this year are Michael Cassity, a mentor teacher in Plumas County; Gary Hack, a special education teacher in Sacramento County; Lorna Mae Nagata, an elementary teacher in Alhambra; Joan Steinberg, a science teacher in San Francisco; David Vigilante, a history teacher in San Diego; Marilyn Whirry, an English teacher at Mira Costa High in Los Angeles County; Sharon Belshaw-Jones, a principal in Alameda County; Jewell Boutte, principal of Crenshaw Senior High in Los Angeles, and Sanderson Smith, a math teacher in Santa Barbara County.