Gilroy
– Ascencion Solorsano Middle School is poised to reintroduce
Gilroy to an old friend they have not seen since 1997-the
Distinguished School Award.
Gilroy – Ascencion Solorsano Middle School is poised to reintroduce Gilroy to an old friend they have not seen since 1997-the Distinguished School Award.
The award, administered by the California Department of Education to about one in 20 schools, is given to schools that meet federal and state criteria for improved academic performance.
“I really think it’s the culture of the school,” Teri Freedman, grant writer for the Gilroy Unified School District, said of the recent success. “You just feel it when you walk on campus.”
Freedman co-authored the application for the award with Sal Tomasello, Solorsano’s principal.
“He’s definitely the captain of the ship,” Freedman said. “He sets the tone.”
At the middle school, the current tone is improvement. Only in its second year of full operation, Solorsano boasted a 61-point increase from 2004 to 2005 on the Academic Performance Index, which uses state-administered tests to determine how well a school is performing. The school also improved its score an additional 10 points from 2005 to 2006.
If the middle school is given the award, it will be the first the GUSD has received since Glen View Elementary got one in 1997. The only other Distinguished School Award the GUSD has had since the award’s inception in 1986 went to Gilroy High School in 1994.
Solorsano was the only secondary school in the GUSD eligible to apply for the award in 2007 because other middle and high schools posted declines or only low gains on the Academic Performance Index. The availability of the award alternates between secondary schools in odd years and elementary schools in even years.
The California Department of Education plans on visiting Solorsano in March to check that the information provided on the application is accurate. If it is deemed to be so, an announcement of the award will be made April 17.
If selected to receive the distinction, it will be presented to Solorsano at a luncheon at the Disneyland Hotel May 18. The symphonic band and the choir have been nominated to perform.
Solorsano was also recently awarded the Title I Academic Achievement Award, which recognizes schools that improve test scores over the course of two or more years and that work to boost lower-performing ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
“If you get a reputation for being a winner,” Freedman said, “that really permeates all levels of an organization and I would expect that to continue at that school.”
