September 23, 2005
California Department of Education Receives
National Excellence Award for Second Time
SACRAMENTO — For the second time in as many years, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today accepted on behalf of the California Department of Education (CDE) the prestigious 2005 Partnership State Award from the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University.
CDE is being honored for excellent leadership in developing family, school, and community partnership programs, designed to help students succeed in school.
"Our hard work to get families and the community more involved in educating our children is paying off with higher student achievement," said O'Connell. "I am very proud to accept this award on behalf of the California Department of Education. We remain dedicated to building partnerships with others to develop programs to help our children succeed in school and future careers."
CDE submitted an application to NNPS with detailed descriptions and evidence of the development of its partnership programs at the state, regional, county, district, and school levels. After a careful assessment of the application, NNPS’ state award committee said it was impressed with the quality of CDE’s leadership and collaborative activities for program development, strong commitment to improving these partnerships, and progress over time.
"The California Department of Education is showing that research-based approaches can be used to help families and communities become involved in their children’s education in ways that increase student success in school," said Dr. Joyce L. Epstein, Director of NNPS. "All of us at the National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University are proud of your state’s accomplishments. The California Department of Education is, indeed, a leader in strengthening programs of school, family, and community partnerships."
CDE provided evidence for a strong statewide program of technical assistance in parent/family involvement, intradepartmental partnerships that include nutrition, physical fitness, child development, migrant education, learning support, school improvement, and accountability, and a newly created Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents.
The award entitles CDE to special recognition from NNPS, a $500 prize to support partnership programs, a plaque, and free attendance at an NNPS leadership conference in Maryland. CDE has been a member of NNPS since 1998.
In 1995, researchers at Johns Hopkins University established NNPS in Baltimore, Maryland, to develop school, family, and community partnerships to help students succeed. For more information, please visit http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/index.htm (Outside Source).
For more information on CDE educational partnerships, please visit Educational Partnerships - Fact Book [Note, the preceding Web address is no longer valid.] For parent, family, and community learning support, nutrition, physical fitness, and the Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents, please visit Learning Support.
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High resolution picture: State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and his staff holding the NNPS plaque (JPG; 1.4MB; 1p.)
Top Row left to right:
Dr. William Ellerbee, Deputy Superintendent, School & District Operations Branch
Geno Flores, Deputy Superintendent, Assessment & Accountability Branch
Jack O'Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Sue Stickel, Deputy Superintendent, Curriculum & Instruction
Sheila Bruton, Managing Editor, CDE Press
Wayne Shimizu, Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents
Leroy Hamm, English Learner Accountability
Caroline Roberts, Administrator, School Health Connections School/Healthy Start
Bottom Row left to right:
Dr. Anne Just, Administrator, Title I Policy & Partnerships
Camille Maben, Director, School & District Accountability Division
Susan Lange, Deputy Superintendent, Finance, Technology & Administration Branch
Lilia Sanchez, Language Policy & Partnerships
Veronica Aguila, Administrator, Language Policy & Partnerships
Carol Dickson, Parent/Family Involvement & NNPS Contact
