COUNTYWIDE : 2 Schools Win a U.S. Blue Ribbon

The U.S. Department of Education this week gave two Orange County schools its Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award, one of its highest honors.

The Fairmont private school in Anaheim and Lakeside Middle School in Irvine were among 221 schools nationwide to be honored with the awards, which are presented to schools that meet the needs of their students most effectively, said Jean D. Narayanan, director of the Department of Education School Recognition Program.

Fairmont was honored in the junior high school category, and is the only private school in Southern California to receive the award. Lakeside received the award in the middle school category.

Nine hundred students attend the three Fairmont elementary and junior high schools in Anaheim and Yorba Linda, but it is the junior high campus in Anaheim that won the award.

Fairmont Executive Director David R. Jackson and founders Kenneth and Helen Holt will attend an awards ceremony at the White House in September, where they will be presented with a flag and a plaque from President Bush and Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander.

Jackson said he is looking forward to flying the School of Excellence flag at the school.

“The fact that we’re a good school is something that I’ve always known,” Jackson said, “but to hear it from the U.S. Department of Education really validates that.”