[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 19, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1022-E1024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE ``BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS'' OF CALIFORNIA'S 51ST DISTRICT

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 19, 1999

  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to recognize 
that three schools in my 51st Congressional District of California are 
now being honored as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 1999.
  In alphabetical order, these schools are:
  La Costa Heights Elementary School, Carlsbad, California. The 
principal is Deborah Blow, and the superintendent of the Encinitas 
Union School District is Douglas DeVore.
  Magnolia Elementary School, Carlsbad, California. The principal is 
James Boone, and the superintendent of the Carlsbad School District is 
Cheryl Ernst.
  Solana Vista School, Solana Beach, California. The principal is 
Stephen Ludwiczak, and the superintendent of the Solana Beach School 
District is Ellie Topolovac.
  Just this morning, I was honored to call each of these 
superintendents myself, to give them the good news and send my warmest 
congratulations.
  The National Blue Ribbon Schools program evaluates schools based upon 
their effectiveness in meeting local, state and national educational 
goals. In 1999, 266 elementary schools are recognized as National Blue 
Ribbon Schools, including the three above in California's 51st 
District, five in San Diego County, and 41 in the State of California. 
Blue Ribbon status is awarded to schools that have strong leadership, 
clear vision and mission, excellent teaching and curriculum, policies 
and practices that keep the schools safe for learning, expanded 
involvement of families, evidence that the school helps all students 
achieve high standards, and a commitment to share best practices with 
other schools.
  I am immensely proud of the men and women whose outstanding and 
tireless work in the interest of better education has now been 
recognized through the National Blue Ribbon Schools program. This is 
particularly close to my heart, because, as a former teacher and coach, 
and as a father, one of my passions is improving education so that 
every American can have a fighting chance to achieve the American 
Dream.
  And while these three schools in my district have now been recognized 
as National Blue Ribbon Schools, the real winners are all of the 
children, parents, teachers and citizens who have all been challenged 
through this recognition to successfully improve education in all of 
their local communities.
  As part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools honor, representatives 
from each of these schools will be invited to awards events in 
Washington, D.C., this October.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the permanent Record of the Congress of the 
United States note the excellence of these three Blue Ribbon Schools in 
California's 51st District, by including summaries of these three 
schools' superior work for my colleagues and all of America to read and 
review.

                   La Costa Heights Elementary School

       La Costa Heights Elementary School located in Carlsbad, 
     California, is a school community committed to our motto, 
     ``La Costa Heights Where Learning Reaches New Heights.'' Our 
     mission is to foster confident students who celebrate 
     learning as a lifelong experience. Through the collaborative 
     efforts of our many parents, community members, and teachers 
     we prepare successful decision makers for a diverse, every-
     changing world. The students at La Costa Heights are educated 
     in a positive and caring environment that promotes the 
     achievement of their personal best, both academically and 
     socially.
       Our primary goal for the students of La Coast Heights is to 
     prepare them to be life-long learners and productive members 
     of society. They are provided a curriculum, which encourages 
     collaboration, problem solving, and responsibility for 
     individual learning. The entire staff and parent community 
     are involved and committed to providing a learning 
     environment that will allow each student to achieve these 
     goals.
       It is the vision of our school community that we be a 
     school the puts children first. As a school community of 
     teacher leaders, we are well on our way to achieving this 
     vision. All staff members take responsibility for meeting the 
     needs to every child. We focus on enhancing each student's 
     learning and giving them the skills to problem solve and make 
     choices. Our students learn to appreciate diversity in people 
     through the instruction of life skills incorporating honesty, 
     teamwork, perservance, and self-reliance.
       Our school staff is composed of teachers with expertise in 
     a variety of areas. These professional willingly share their 
     knowledge and experiences with all members of our staff 
     creating a challenging, yet nurturing environment for our 
     students. As leaders, the staff has worked together over the 
     past several years as strong grade level teams, drawing upon 
     each other's strengths to create programs that challenge yet 
     nurture all students. Teachers at La Costa Heights are very 
     helping and welcoming. They are eager to share ideas, 
     materials, and endearing moments, because they believe that 
     our strength comes from our collaboration.
       Located in Carlsbad, California, La Costa Heights School is 
     pat of the Encinitas Union School District which serves 
     students kindergarten through 6th grade. Opened in April 
     1987, it currently supports approximately 720 students. The 
     school's strong reputation for providing a nurturing yet 
     challenging learning environment draws new families into the 
     community. Due to this reputation, the school draws several 
     families from outside our immediate attendance area on inter 
     and intra district transfers. The school serves a commuter 
     community of middle to upper class families in the northern 
     coastal region of San Diego County. Families from several 
     ethnic backgrounds make up a portion of our community 
     although only 2% of our population represents English 
     Language Learners. La Costa Heights is also home to a 
     regional special day class for severely handicapped students. 
     Due to the stability of the

[[Page E1023]]

     community and school enrollment, the majority of our students 
     attend our school from kindergarten through sixth grade. 
     Since the school's opening in 1987, we have experienced slow, 
     but steady growth. In the past year, this growth has 
     accelerated due to new housing developments in the area. As a 
     school that was prepared for this growth, we have been able 
     to provide a very welcoming atmosphere for our new families, 
     allowing them to quickly assimilate into our school family.
       Boasting a strong tradition of volunteerism, one cannot 
     enter the school without finding several parent and community 
     volunteers working in some capacity to assist in student 
     learning. A spirit of collaboration and innovation pervades 
     the school as teachers and parents work together to create 
     solutions to challenges and to create programs and 
     instruction that have been replicated at other schools in the 
     district.
       La Costa Heights Elementary School serves as the hub of the 
     community in which it resides. It is a school truly dedicated 
     to its community and its students. Having formed several 
     business partnerships, we work together to both provide for 
     our students, and in turn teach our students to give back to 
     their community. Service learning is a major focus of our 
     curriculum. Teaching an integrated curriculum that also 
     provides a service to the community has become a strength at 
     our school. We work as a community to use our existing 
     resources and respond quickly to new challenges in support of 
     the families and residents of our community. The most 
     powerful example of this occurred when a fire struck the La 
     Costa community in October 1996. The school became the 
     gathering place for the community as a luncheon was served by 
     staff members. From this tragedy grew a tremendous service 
     learning project which was begun just one month after the 
     fire. Utilizing our business partners and working closely 
     with the city of Carlsbad, a local park was restored and an 
     educational native plant trail created. From this beginning, 
     several other service learning projects have evolved as 
     students experience their curriculum in a ``hands 
     on''environment which is relevant to their lives.
       In preparing our students for the future, La Costa Heights 
     has placed a strong emphasis on bringing technology into our 
     classrooms. The staff is aggressive about utilizing existing 
     technologies while finding ways to acquire new hardware and 
     software applications. We have tapped a variety of resources 
     to update our existing computers and acquire new ones. 
     Students can be found using technology applications in 
     meaningful ways on a daily basis at our school.
       The students at La Costa Heights are our stars. Through the 
     many experiential learning activities in which they have 
     participated, they have learned to give back to their 
     community. Our students have also developed a strong sense of 
     compassion due to their work with the special needs students. 
     This is a unique opportunity which we have embraced.
       La Costa Heights' staff and parents believe that our 
     collaborative spirit is our greatest strength. We all work 
     together to create an environment for each child where his/
     her learning can reach new heights.
                                  ____


                       Magnolia Elementary School

       Magnolia Elementary School in Carlsbad, California is one 
     of seven elementary schools in the Carlsbad Unified School 
     District, and is in its 42nd year of operation. We are a K-6 
     grade school with a current population of 701 students 
     including 56 students enrolled in our regional program for 
     the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. (We provide the Deaf and Hard 
     of Hearing program for 14 school districts comprising the 
     North Coastal Consortium for Special Education.) Also located 
     at Magnolia are two District Special Day classes providing 
     individualized services for special needs students within 
     Carlsbad Unified School District. All special needs students 
     at Magnolia have full access to regular education programs 
     and are mainstreamed in regular education classes, in some 
     cases, for the entire day. Our growing Hispanic population 
     (155) is taught to speak and read English with the assistance 
     of our ESL teacher. It's exciting to see non-English speaking 
     students become fully bilingual in a three or 4 year span. 
     Many of our Spanish speaking students are tri-lingual by 6th 
     grade. They have mastered English and become fluent in sign 
     language as well. Parents of students at Magnolia range from 
     unskilled field laborers, to highly skilled professionals 
     (physicians, attorneys, dentists, biomedical research, 
     scientists, etc.)
       Magnolia's parents and teachers hold the common belief that 
     challenge in education is important and essential. Our 
     parents want to see their children challenged and achieve. 
     They demonstrate their commitment to education by supporting 
     our highly active and involved PTA with volunteer time and 
     donated money to support our arts and physical education 
     programs that augment our academic curriculum. Our teachers 
     work diligently to provide students with a variety of 
     educational experiences thoughtfully designed, implemented 
     and evaluated to ensure skill acquisition in all subjects and 
     the opportunity to demonstrate those skills through problem 
     solving activities involving application and synthesis of 
     acquired knowledge.
       Our single story facility is located on a 10.53 acre parcel 
     of land adjacent to Valley Middle School and one block away 
     from Carlsbad High School. Fourteen (14) relocatable 
     classrooms have been added to our facility over the last 12 
     years to provide space for two District special day classes, 
     a computer lab, and to accommodate class size reduction in 
     grades 1 through 3. There are 47 certificated and 27 support 
     personnel at Magnolia.
       A large athletic field, basketball, volleyball, handball 
     and tetherball courts are available for physical education 
     and recreational use. A 5000 square foot garden with 32 
     raised planting beds and a butterfly enclosure is also 
     located on our campus for instructional use. The Strategic 
     Planning process we have incorporated has helped to focus our 
     instructional program through the development of a 
     comprehensive School Site Plan. Parents, teachers, students, 
     and administrators developed the 5 year plan (1995-2000) 
     designed to meet the educational needs of our diverse student 
     population.
       Magnolia Elementary School's MISSION STATEMENT was 
     developed in the Spring of 1995 by a team of 19 individuals 
     representing parents, teachers, students, classified 
     employees, and the school administration. Our Mission 
     reflects the vision we hold for every student enrolled at 
     Magnolia and we ensure its implementation by always being our 
     own best critic.


     
                                  ____
                          Solana Vista School

       Solana Vista is located in Solana Beach, California. As the 
     only K-3 school of five elementary schools in the Solana 
     Beach School District, we focus on meeting the developmental 
     needs of children aged five to eight. Our diverse population 
     of 400 students includes English speaking students, English 
     learners of Hispanic, Asian and European background, and a 
     high percentage of special needs students. The academic, 
     social, and economic needs of our students were considered 
     when we developed our Mission Statement to express our 
     commitment to developing successful, creative, inquisitive, 
     respectful and responsible students. We accomplish this 
     through student-centered instruction, ongoing assessment, 
     support programs, parent involvement, and community 
     partnerships. Solana Vista was recognized as a Blue Ribbon 
     School in 1990 and as a California Distinguished School in 
     1998. Our current school self-assessment shows how our 
     educational programs and effectiveness as a primary school 
     have evolved and improved dramatically since our last Blue 
     Ribbon award, nearly ten years ago.
       At Solana Vista, student-centered instruction is 
     exemplified by effective teaching practices and ongoing, 
     multiple assessment measures. All 21 classrooms participate 
     in California's 20:1 student-teacher class size reduction 
     program, which allows our teachers to focus closely on each 
     student's specific behavioral, emotional and academic needs. 
     Professional development and growth is a priority. Teachers 
     remain abreast of the latest research by participating in 
     conferences and workshops each year. We have created 
     heterogeneous, balanced classes with small clusters of 
     children receiving resource services in certain classes. 
     Teachers use differential instruction and flexible-skills 
     groupings to meet all students' needs. Students targeted for 
     the gifted and talented program benefit from our Talents 
     Unlimited curriculum, used with all students to foster 
     critical thinking skills. Last year, our Gifted and Talented 
     Education Program was rated exemplary. Approximately 60% of 
     our school staff are bilingual and provide students 
     alternative instructional delivery systems, such as Specially 
     Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) and 
     sheltered English instruction.
       Our comprehensive curriculum and assessment are aligned 
     with rigorous District and State Content Standards. 
     Curriculum is integrated, using hands-on, investigative 
     learning activities to increase student motivation and engage 
     students in the exploration of new concepts. Technology such 
     as CD-ROMs and laser disks support our curriculum. We employ 
     a four-year cycle for curriculum renewal, spearheaded by our 
     School Site Council. Committees within the District are 
     involved when the District adopts new, state-approved 
     materials. Selected teachers pilot new programs, read current 
     educational research, and review feedback provided by 
     teachers, administrators and parents to assist them in the 
     decision-making process.
       Students' academic needs are assessed regularly to ensure 
     the teaching practices used in the classroom are effective. 
     Assessment is achieved through a balance of authentic and 
     standardized data that includes district math and language 
     arts tests, student work samples, anecdotal notes, 
     standardized test results, and running records. Our Student 
     Success Team identifies and assists students who are not 
     successful within the regular classroom structure. In 
     addition, the bilingual resource teacher tracks oral language 
     development among English Learners and conducts Student 
     Appraisal Team (SAT) meetings involving the principal, 
     resource and classroom teachers, parents, and support service 
     personnel to discuss students' progress.
       Support programs are in place to provide for children's 
     physical, emotional and academic needs. We have a counseling 
     program maintained by our bilingual school psychologist and 
     guidance counselor. The psycologist works with interns from a 
     local college to create individual behavior modification 
     plans, while the guidance counselor works

[[Page E1024]]

     with small clusters of students on social skills and conflict 
     resolution. Our behavior program called PALS--Positive 
     Attitude toward Learning and School--gives students a 
     consistent school-wide behavior plan that focuses on rewards 
     and recognition while de-emphasizing negative consequences. 
     Reading intervention programs include our new Miller Unruh 
     Reading Specialist who works with small groups of children 
     with reading difficulties, and the Rolling Readers Program 
     that utilizes community volunteers to tutor children one-on-
     one. Our Study Buddy Program pairs students with high school 
     buddies to assist them with schoolwork, and provide 
     friendship, and positive role models.
       Our parents demonstrate a commitment to meeting the needs 
     of our school through donations and active participation. 
     Over 10,300 volunteer hours were logged at our school last 
     year, including volunteers assisting with programs such as 
     the Rolling Readers, Books & Beyond, and Super Star Math. 
     Parents also serve as decisionmakers with representatives 
     sitting on the Solana Beach Board of Education, School Site 
     Council, District Advisory Forum, and the Foundation for 
     Learning.
       We offer parents support to meet their children's needs. 
     On-site before- and after-school childcare is available. 
     Scholarships are available for all after-school enrichment 
     activities. Newsletters and Web sites involve parents with 
     classroom learning and homework assignments. We give extended 
     opportunities for learning such as the Books & Beyond, and 
     Math, Science and Beyond programs. The bilingual resource 
     teacher, community liaison, and school nurse make home visits 
     as needed for our Spanish-speaking families. Parent education 
     sessions are held for Spanish-speaking parents on such topics 
     as ``Reading with Your Child'' and ``Child Nutrition.''
       Our community partnerships include businesses, community 
     volunteers, and surrounding educational institutions. We 
     collaborate to create a facility that will meet the 
     community's needs. For six years, Mission Federal Credit 
     Union has provided funds for earthquake preparedness, our 
     garden project, and our weather station. Their employees 
     dedicate many volunteer hours as reading tutors. Local 
     restaurants and stores provide student awards for the Books & 
     Beyond recreational reading program. The Solana Beach 
     Foundation for Learning, a group of parent and community 
     volunteers, are committed to raising funds for enrichment 
     programs. Their Annual Pledge Drive raises thousands of 
     dollars each year. We work closely with local high schools, 
     colleges and universities to strengthen our students' 
     educational experience, and to provide our teachers with 
     support and continuing professional development.
       The Solana Vista School facility was built in 1971 and has 
     grown from the eleven original classrooms to the current 21, 
     reflecting the growth in the community. We have a technology 
     center, science laboratory and on-site childcare center. 
     Traditions such as our third grade play, art fair, monthly 
     school sings and community/town meetings are held in the 
     popular Kiva meeting center that adjoins the media center/
     library. The community uses our extensive grass fields seven 
     days a week for recreation. We have collaborative agreements 
     with the Solana Beach Little League, Solana Beach Soccer 
     Association, and the City of Solana Beach. The minimal rate 
     of vandalism and maximum community use speaks highly of the 
     respect our community has for the facility and programs 
     offered at Solana Vista.
       The journey to academic excellence begins at Solana Vista 
     for our K-3 students. Their educational progression continues 
     at the Blue Ribbon Schools of Skyline Elementary for grades 
     4-6, Earl Warren Junior High School and Torrey Pines High 
     School (honored in 1988, 1992, and 1987, 93, and 98 
     respectively). Solana Vista and its counterparts consistently 
     demonstrate quality service to children and their families 
     that results in superior education, recognition of individual 
     efforts and a 97% college attendance rate for current high 
     school graduates.

     

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