2 Private Schools Win Awards of Excellence

Two private schools in the San Fernando Valley have been named national Blue Ribbon award winners, considered to be one of the most prestigious academic distinctions in the nation.

Chaminade College Preparatory School in Chatsworth and Providence High School in Burbank were among 27 California Schools and 166 schools nationwide to be named 1997-98 winners.

Schools earning the national designation are chosen by the U.S. Department of Education.

Chaminade, which has separate middle and high school campuses and nearly 2,000 students, got news of the award Friday. Barbara Gray, who has two children enrolled at the school, said many parents and teachers worked on the award application.

“I was delighted to hear that we won,” she said. “I’m just pleased that private schools are also being recognized for excellence.”

At Providence High, a Catholic college preparatory school with 525 students, Bobken Amirian, who is on the Parent Executive Board, said the award comes as no surprise.

“When you are dealing with a high school with a 96% to 97% acceptance rate into college, no violence, no drugs, parents very involved, I think it makes sense,” Amirian said.

“I was expecting it to happen because I think we have one of the greatest high schools around.”

The award program, started in 1982, highlights improvements and innovations in education from the smallest rural schools to the biggest inner city campuses. It has been a source of bragging rights for past winners including Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Pacoima and Long Beach’s Cubberly Elementary School.