Four elementary schools from the Garden Grove Unified School District have been honored with the California Distinguished School Award by the state Department of Education.
Cook, Excelsior, Stanford and Sunnyside schools were identified as winners on Thursday. They are among 42 elementary schools in Orange County and 387 across California that receive the award, which is based on overall excellence, performance on state and federal measures
and documented progress in narrowing achievement gaps among key student groups.
The GGUSD schools will be honored at a regional awards ceremony on May 4 recognizing winners from Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
A key factor in the award is Academic Performance Index scores. Excelsior hit a high of 883 in 2011 (800 is considered the goal), while Stanford is at 816, Sunnyside at 908 and Cook at 881.
In each case, the schools have a high percentage of students who are low income and not native-English speakers.
Cook is located at 9802 Woodbury Ave., Garden Grove. Excelsior is at 10421 Woodbury Rd. in Garden Grove. Stanford is at 12721 Magnolia St. in Garden Grove and Sunnyside is at 9972 Russell Ave. in Garden Grove.
Intermediate and high schools will be honored in 2013.
