The Willow Glen Resident Lincoln High School wins top honor and recognition Principal and student flew to Washington, D.C., to receive award By Michelle Ku It's official. Lincoln High School is not only one of the top schools in the country, it's also one of the premier sites to seek an arts education. Lincoln, San Jose Unified School District's academic, visual and performing arts magnet, was one of eight schools to receive the 1997-98 special emphasis award in arts education by the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Currently, 278 Willow Glen students are attending Lincoln High. "The arts people are just ecstatic. They work hard and what it does is it validates everything they do. When you receive the honor of being one of the top fine arts departments in the United States, I think that's saying something," said Principal Oreen Gernreich. In addition to the special emphasis award, Lincoln was also nationally recognized for being chosen a National Blue Ribbon School in two separate ceremonies in Washington, D.C. last week. Four representatives from Lincoln High School, including the principal, a student and San Jose's first man, Phil Hammer, were in Washington to receive the awards on behalf of the school. This is the first time Lincoln has been named a National Blue Ribbon School. "I think it's probably one of the best awards we could get. It's a national recognition about how well our school is doing and how well the teachers are teaching. This is an exceptional administrative staff and an exceptional teaching staff. It's a great honor for the staff here," Gernreich said. The Blue Ribbons Schools Program recognizes schools that excel in teaching and instruction, student achievement, leadership and parental involvement. "You have to be a California Distinguished School before you are even considered [for the Blue Ribbon]. You can't automatically leap over to get a Blue Ribbon," Gernreich said. Schools that apply for Blue Ribbon status undergo a rigorous review process of applications, interviews and on-site reviews, Zamora said. Lincoln began the application process at the beginning of the 1997-98 academic year. The school had to complete a self-study report on the standards and curriculum, school organization and culture, community partnerships and student focus and support. Paul Kanter, a Lincoln resource teacher who coordinates mentoring and tutoring programs, called the National Blue Ribbon "a culmination of a lot of hard work," and added, "The school's really come into its own. It's a place where we have a waiting list to get in. Oreen's attracted a lot of good staff people to come over and work." After being named a National Blue Ribbon, the application was then re-reviewed for special emphasis consideration. The National Blue Ribbon and special emphasis awards are the culmination of a period of academic excellence for Lincoln. Lincoln was named a California Distinguished School in both 1994 and 1996. The school was also honored May 2 by Magnet Schools of America for its visual and performing arts program. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, November 18, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.