Springboard News

Educational Excellence Celebrated at Springboard Schools’ Annual Awards Gala

Event’s largest crowd ever honors winners

San Francisco,  June 14, 2006 – It’s about time some of California’s top education leaders got the praise they deserve. Last Thursday, June 8, 2006, Springboard Schools, a nonprofit, non-partisan networks of educators working to improve schools, honored three California districts and schools, and one individual who all have shown outstanding accomplishment in improving education in the state. The Awards Gala, titled Celebrating Educational Excellence, was held at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria, and drew an enthusiastic crowd of near 200.

The Springboard Awards are unique in that they are based on evaluations of the schools and districts. Looking at achievement data shows that these schools and districts are making great gains, but not through super-human efforts. Instead, they are implementing best practices that any school or district can adopt – and any school or district can show similar gains in student achievement, narrowing of the achievement gap, and using inquiry as a tool for improvement, from the boardroom to the classroom.

The schools and districts recognized at the Annual Awards Gala are not wealthy – to the contrary, they have large populations of students learning English and with low family incomes. Where these schools and districts are rich is in their dedicated education leaders who are determined that every student in every school has a successful school career, and is ready for college or the workplace upon graduation. These education leaders are leading the way to successful California schools, working in Sacramento, in district and school offices, and in classrooms across the state.

The event was hosted by Samantha Mohr, CBS 5 Chief Meteorologist, and included entertainment by VOENA, the internationally acclaimed, multi-ethnic children's choir from Benicia. In his keynote address, Assembly-member Juan Arambula (D-Fresno) provided an inspirational story of his rise to state political office from a humble start as the son of migrant workers.

Recognizing California districts, schools and individuals, these winners were honored:

• Inquiry Award
  Exeter Public Schools
  Sponsored by John and Regina Scully
• Equity Award
  Reedley High School, Kings Canyon USD
  Sponsored by Wells Fargo
• Achievement Award
  Sanger Unified School District
  Sponsored by Applied Materials
• Education Leader of the Year
  State Senator Joe Simitian
  Sponsored by AT&T

This event drew about 200 attendees, including many California educators who attended at no cost.

For more information call 415 348-5526 or visit www.SpringboardSchools.org

This event was made possible by the generous support of these sponsors:

AT&T, Applied Materials, Well Fargo, John and Regina Scully, Bill and Mary Poland, Thomas C. Schneider, Lenny Mendonca, CEVILI-CSU Fresno, ETS, LightSPEED Technologies, San Francisco Business Times, Marin Community Foundation, and small potatoes catering, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and others.

# # #

About Springboard Schools

Springboard Schools is a California-based nonprofit and non-partisan network of educators and others committed to raising student achievement and narrowing the achievement gap. Springboard was founded in 1995 as the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC).

Since that time Springboard has worked with 325 schools in 74 school districts in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, and Southern California. In 2001, researchers based at Stanford University’s Center for Research on the Context of Teaching found that achievement in Springboard (then BASRC) schools rose at a faster rate than in a carefully-matched comparison group of schools, and that those schools that implemented the program with most fidelity made the greatest gains.

For more information about Springboard Schools and this study, visit our website at www.SpringboardSchools.org or call 415 348-5500.