La Cañada High School receives ‘Blue Ribbon’ for academic excellence
La Cañada High School has been named a National Blue Ribbon School, a designation granted by the U.S. Department of Education to recognize academic excellence, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced Tuesday.
“This honor recognizes your students’ accomplishments and the hard work and dedication that went into their success,” Duncan said in a video message congratulating the awardees. “You represent excellence — in vision, in implementation and in results — and we want to learn as much as we can from you.”
LCHS was one of 33 schools statewide, and among only 335 in the nation, to receive the designation, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Principal Ian McFeat attributed the achievement to the diligence of faculty and staff and to the students.
“It’s just an amazing honor to be recognized among such excellent schools — it’s a team win,” McFeat said Tuesday, adding that he received the news late last week on an embargoed basis and was only able to share it with faculty that day.
“You’ve got to keep it quiet when you know it,” he added. “It’s (hard) because it’s great news and you want to tell someone.”
This isn’t the first time the campus has received such an honor. La Cañada High was first named a National Blue Ribbon School in 1992 and, more recently, in 2004.
In a statement released shortly after Tuesday’s announcement Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) praised the high school’s latest achievement, applauding its continued commitment to academic success.
“Every year, the National Blue Ribbon award graces the entrances of schools that excel at producing the best students,” Schiff stated. “I want to congratulate the students, teachers, school board members and administrative staff on the occasion of La Cañada High School being named a Blue Ribbon School.”
Last year, Schiff visited La Cañada Elementary School, which won the honor for 2013, to present administrators and students with a flag that had flown over the Capitol.
Representatives of LCHS have been invited to Washington, D.C., on Nov. 9 and 10 to participate in a formal recognition ceremony. There, each Blue Ribbon school will be presented with an award plaque and a flag to be displayed as a symbol of its accomplishment.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
