March 22, 2013 -- The Edison Language Academy, which serves some of Santa Monica’s poorest students, has been recognized by California’s business community for closing the achievement gap, local School District officials announced Monday.

The school in the economically diverse Pico Neighborhood was one of 871 public schools in California to be named a 2012 Honor Roll Star School by the California Business for Education Excellence (CBEE).

“Schools receiving this distinction have demonstrated consistent high levels of student academic achievement, improvement in achievement levels over time and reduction in achievement gaps,” District officials said.

It is the third year in a row that Edison receives the distinction, which is given to schools with “significant populations of socio-economically disadvantaged students that have shown a significant increase in grade-level proficiency over time,” officials said. 
 
 “Our teachers and administrators work tirelessly to keep the focus on high expectations and student academic achievement and to continuously improve our practices,” said District Superintendent Sandra Lyon. “This hard work and dedication is paying off for all of our students, no matter their background.” 
 
As one of the District’s three “dual immersion” schools, Edison offers bilingual classes in English and Spanish for all students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. 

Dual immersion schools, said Edison Language Academy Principal Lori Orum, “are designed to provide an enriched and rigorous curriculum for all students while developing students’ proficiency in two languages.

“Edison students learn together through two languages,” Orum said.  
 
Graduates of Edison, which has been an immersion school for 26 years, move on to John Adams Middle School and then to Santa Monica High School, where they can continue to take both Spanish and one or two other subject matter courses in Spanish through twelfth grade. 
 
“We have schools throughout the state that are getting it right for all students and this should not be a secret,” said Greg Jones, CBEE Chairman and past member of the California State Board of Education.

“To ensure more of our schools succeed, we must change the conversation from being about fixing failing schools to one that focuses on replicating the success of schools like those on the Honor Roll.”
 
Among the factors that contribute to a school’s success are “high expectations for all students; ongoing collaboration among teachers to improve practice; targeted use of data to pinpoint challenges and monitor progress; continual intervention for struggling students; and mastery of content knowledge and pedagogical practices,” CBEE officials said.
 
A full list of the Honor Roll schools can be found at: www.cbee.org
 
The annual Honor Roll award is made possible with support from numerous businesses and organizations including State Farm, Macy’s, Edison International, Wells Fargo, Southern California Auto Club, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the California Business Roundtable, and several private foundations.  Chevron Corporation provided specific support in the creation of the STEM Honor Roll.