Fresh Signs of School Success

What distinguishes a truly great school?

Lots of attention to fundamentals such as teaching, parent involvement and effective use of technology.

That’s what paid off for nine Ventura County elementary schools that last week were awarded the coveted designation of California Distinguished School.

The honored campuses, scattered from Thousand Oaks to Ventura, were among 598 California schools that applied last fall for the designation in the annual competition. After narrowing the pool, state officials visited the campuses. A total of 211 were honored statewide.

Ventura County’s winners are:

* Glenwood Elementary, Thousand Oaks;

* Grace S. Thille Elementary, Santa Paula;

* Hollow Hills Fundamental School, Simi Valley;

* Marina West Elementary, Oxnard;

* Norma Harrington Elementary, Oxnard;

* Park Oaks Elementary, Thousand Oaks;

* Poinsettia Elementary, Ventura;

* Tierra Linda Elementary, Camarillo;

* Westlake Hills Elementary, Thousand Oaks.

Common denominators among the honored schools are unusually high levels of support from parents and the community. All of them put parent volunteers to work in the classroom and running after-school activities; some offer the parents computer training and literacy help as well. Harrington teamed up with several other schools to buy dental equipment and recruit local dentists to provide free clinics for needy children.

Such fresh, enthusiastic approaches to education are what real learning is all about. It’s nice to see such efforts recognized at the state level. We add our congratulations to the chorus of cheers.

The Distinguished School designation is good for school pride and parental peace of mind; real estate agents say it can also increase property values of surrounding homes.

The real winners, of course, are the students. And when they win, everybody wins.