Schallenberger receives a Distinguished School award
By Susan Wiedmann
Willow Glen's Schallenberger Elementary School is one of five elementary schools in the San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) selected as a California Distinguished School this year.
On May 24, 14 members of the Schallenberger community, including Principal Margie Payne Graves, teachers, parents and students, attended the awards ceremony in Anaheim, in which the school received a plaque and a flag with the California Distinguished School designation.
Graves has been the principal of Schallenberger for only nine months, having formerly worked in the SJUSD office. She said that Schallenberger has long had a strong reputation in the district as a community dedicated to turning out students who are well-rounded high achievers skilled at lifelong learning.
"I knew immediately that the school was distinguished," Graves said about her initial reaction to Schallenberger last August.
A school has to be invited to apply for the California Distinguished School recognition by the California Department of Education. In order to qualify for the invitation, the school must be in the top 3 percent of California schools, a figure that is determined by achievement that includes a high academic performance index (API). The API is a combination of the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT 9) and the California Standards Base Test.
Other criteria for the recognition included high academic expectations of all students; a variety of teaching strategies to provide challenging learning experiences; comprehensive guidance and counseling programs; support services for ESL students, those who are at risk, and those with physical or learning disabilities; family involvement; and school partnerships with business and community groups.
A detailed, 12-page written application is a major component of a school's application. Graves, Schallenberger's teachers and parent volunteers had roles in preparing the document on behalf of the school. A volunteer writing team was created, comprising one teacher from each grade level, representatives from the school's different programs and community parents.
"When you start looking at your school from an outsider's point of view, you start getting very impressed with what you see," Graves said. "We got pretty excited about what we were doing."
The first draft was written in November.
The school will have a celebration from 5- 8:30 p.m., May 31. That night the school will also honor its teacher of the year, Maria Jorgensen, and its parent volunteer of the year, the identity of whom will remain anonymous until that evening.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
