2 Schools Nominated for State Honors

Two Glendale elementary schools are among 27 California campuses nominated by the State Department of Education for honors for helping students from low-income families to excel academically, officials said.

Horace Mann Elementary School and Cerritos Elementary School become the first in the Glendale Unified School District to be considered for the state’s Chapter 1 Achieving Compensatory Education Schools Awards, said Alice Petrossian, the district’s director of special projects and intercultural education.

If both campuses receive state recognition, they will go on to compete in the 10th annual Chapter 1 National Recognition program, sponsored by the U. S. Department of Education, Petrossian said Thursday. Chapter 1 is the name of the federal requirement that special services be available for students who are from low-income families.

“This just goes to prove that dedication and hard work are rewarded,” Petrossian said. “Cerritos and Mann have proven that they can have a great deal of success equally educating all children.”

About 70% of students at Mann elementary and 30% from Cerritos have been identified as children of parents who receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children.

To obtain state recognition, officials at Cerritos, Mann and the other 25 schools will have to fill out forms describing their federally funded programs and how they have been effective with students as well as parents. The deadline to apply is Oct. 29.

Each campus will then be visited in the spring by state Education Department representatives, Petrossian said.

Mann Principal Lynda L. Christian said she and her staff are working toward obtaining national recognition.

“It will take a lot of work, a lot of energy, but we’re looking forward to it,” Christian said.