Five County Schools Win National ‘Blue Ribbon’ Award

Five Orange County secondary schools are among 27 statewide to be selected as 1997-98 National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.

Los Alamitos High, Dana Hills High, Corona del Mar High and Rancho San Joaquin Middle schools were notified of their wins this week. Santa Margarita Catholic High School was the only private school in the county to earn the honor.

Principal Mark Reider said that when the news was announced over the intercom at Irvine’s Rancho San Joaquin Middle School, “the kids were clapping, whistling and stomping. It was great.”

The honor is given to schools that demonstrate, among other things, challenging standards and curriculum and partnerships with families and community.

The schools, which spent months preparing detailed applications, were among eight in the county and 46 statewide nominated for the honor in November.

In April, a national review panel spent two days at each of the 22 finalist schools to verify their programs.

This is the third win for Los Alamitos High School.

“We are going to put blue ribbons around the school and in the trees,” Los Alamitos Principal Sherry Kropp said.

Robert Cunard, assistant principal at Corona del Mar, credited “incredible” students, teachers and parents. Also, he said, “here, community service is a graduation requirement, and our foundation has built two computer labs and a third as we speak.”

At Dana Hills High, Principal Kay Rager said parental support “is so great that sometimes you can’t even tell who is staff and who isn’t.”