BUENA PARK : Principal Credited for State Honor

After a survey disclosed that one-third of the students at Gilbert Elementary School didn’t eat before coming to school, Principal George Cottrell started a breakfast program.

When the homework scores of children whose families didn’t speak English as a primary language started to decline, Cottrell started a parent education program.

To encourage children to read more, he began a program to reward students for the number of minutes they spend each day with a book.

For these efforts and others, the state Department of Education named Gilbert one of 10 “exemplary schools” in California this year. Gilbert was honored as a California Distinguished School last year. And school officials say the awards are due mostly to Cottrell’s efforts.

Cottrell became the school’s principal seven years ago and has presided over major changes at Gilbert. Once part of a middle-class neighborhood, Gilbert is now considered to be on the wrong side of the tracks.

Two of the city’s gangs live and feud nearby, and apartment complexes have gradually replaced single-family homes.

The school’s population has increased by more than half, from 450 to 737 students. The number of minority students has also skyrocketed, as has the number of children from single-parent households.

Sitting in his office, where most of one wall is taken up by rows of snapshots of children who attend Gilbert, Cottrell explained why he believes that the school has been so successful.

“All children can learn,” he said. “You’ve just got to get someone who cares.”

To that end, Cottrell has gone out of his way to hire enthusiastic teachers and keep tabs on what goes on in the classroom.

He visits each classroom at least once a week, and frequently reviews teachers’ lesson plans before they are presented.

He is a popular figure on campus, drawing a crowd of second- and third-graders when he wanders across the playground during morning recess.

“I think he is great,” said second-grader Isaac Aflaro. “I am always getting into trouble, but he always gives me a second chance.”

Cottrell, 43, joined the Buena Park School District after earning a degree in speech pathology from Cal State Fullerton in 1969. He was first a special education teacher and was vice principal of Beatty School before joining Gilbert in 1983.

The first problem he tackled at Gilbert was low attendance at the annual Christmas program performed by the students.

Cottrell kept after parents to attend, and Gilbert now has to hold several performances of the program to accommodate all the interested parents.

He also reached out to parents two years ago after the movie “Colors” was released. A group of third-graders wearing red got into a fight with another group wearing blue.

He called an emergency parent meeting and the problem hasn’t occurred since then.

Cottrell also does public relations work in the business community, urging local merchants to adopt the school and donate supplies and equipment.

“It is my job to make the budget sing,” he said. “If you need something, there is always a way to get it.”