The California Department of Education has named several elementary schools in Contra Costa County as 2025 California Distinguished Schools.
On March 25, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced the designation of 336 elementary schools throughout California as exemplifying student excellence and what he described as “closing the achievement gap.”
“Since its inception in 1985, the California Distinguished Schools Award remains one of the state’s most important ways to celebrate exceptional schools, districts, teachers, and classified employees for their innovation, talent, and success in supporting students,” said a release from the California Department of Education (DOE).
Among the list are eight schools in Contra Costa County, half of them in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD), which serves 30,000 students in San Ramon, Alamo, Danville, and small portions of Walnut Creek and Pleasanton.
The four schools in this district honored with the Distinguished Schools nod were John Baldwin, Greenbook, and Creekside elementary schools in Danville, and Neil Armstrong Elementary in San Ramon.
SRVUSD Superintendent CJ Cammack praised the recognition in a letter to the community on March 26.
“This recognition is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our students, staff, and families,” he wrote. “Through my regular school visits, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the remarkable work happening in the classrooms around the district.”
The other four elementary schools in the county on the awards list are Los Perales and Donald L. Rheem elementary schools in the Moraga School District, Happy Valley Elementary in the Lafayette School District, and West County Mandarin in Pinole, part of West Contra Costa County Unified.
“Our school community is very excited and grateful to have received this recognition,” said Eric Peterson, principal of West County Mandarin, in an email.
West County Mandarin School opened in 2017 and is the first public Mandarin immersion school to open in Contra Costa County and is the first whole-school Mandarin immersion program in the East Bay, according to the school.
Additionally, Julie Parks, superintendent of the Moraga School District, expressed her gratitude for both schools’ recognition from the state.
“We are very proud of our very inclusive culture at our two school sites,” wrote Parks in an email. “We work very hard to ensure that all students learn and belong each day because we believe that connected students are students who can be ready to do their best academically.”
Teacher collabborative teams contributed
She added that she thought that the schools’ application of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports program (PBIS) and strong teacher collaborative teams helped them earn this achievement.
PBIS is a data-driven framework that uses individualized supports, positive reinforcement, and early behavioral intervention to create a better learning environment for all students and teachers, according to the PBIS organization, which works under the U.S. Department of Education.
“We have been thrilled to see the rapid growth of our school’s program for student academic and social-emotional success,” said Peterson of West County Mandarin.
One guideline to be awarded a spot in this prestigious group involves schools making a visible effort to reduce or completely diminish socioeconomic divides between students, also known as “closing the achievement gap.”
Schools that are recognized for closing the achievement gap have demonstrated growth among certain student groups that have statistically underperformed compared to other groups of students, combined with “strong overall outcomes for all students,” the DOE said.
Another requirement needed to achieve this award is an overall showing of exceptional student performance, while at the same time nurturing students in all levels of engagement and providing a positive learning environment, the DOE said. To fulfill these standards, schools must meet the highest academic level possible for both English and math for all students.
In celebrating this achievement, every school awarded will be formally recognized at the Disneyland Hotel on May 30, 2025.
Madeleine Hanavan is a 10th grader at Dozier-Libbey Medical High School in Antioch.
