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SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced the nomination of two California public schools for the 2006-07 National No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Title I Distinguished Schools Recognition Award.

The nominees are Manchester GATE School in the Fresno Unified School District and KIPP Adelante Preparatory Academy, a direct-funded charter school operating in the San Diego Unified School District.

"Both of these schools are known for their rigorous curricula and high expectations that challenge and inspire their students, many of whom have never had the opportunity to succeed in school," said O'Connell. "The schools provide the kind of nurturing environment and innovative programs that bring out the best in their students."

All schools nominated by each state will receive the award during the National Title I Conference to be held on January 27-30, 2007 in Long Beach.

Each state may nominate two schools, one in each of two categories: (1.) for having the greatest percentage of students at or above the proficient level for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in reading/language arts and mathematics, and, (2.) for making the most progress in closing the achievement gap among numerically significant subgroups. These subgroups consist of students who are poor, minorities, disabled, or have limited English proficiency.

Manchester GATE had the greatest percentage of students at or above the proficient level for AYP in reading, language arts, and mathematics and exceeded its AYP for more than two years. KIPP Adelante made the most progress in closing the achievement gap among numerically significant subgroups in the school.

Manchester GATE School was selected in 1987, 1995, and 2000 as a California Distinguished School. In addition, as part of Redbook Magazine's "Best Schools Project," the school was selected as the best school in California in 1995. In 2000-01, it was selected as one of 260 schools nationwide as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. The school's Web site is at Manchester GATE [ www.fresno.k12.ca.us/schools/s031/index.htm] (Outside Source).

KIPP Adelante is one of 47 direct-funded charter schools founded by the KIPP Foundation with headquarters in San Francisco. KIPP schools are located in 15 states and the District of Columbia. The San Diego Unified School District provides administrative and technical assistance through the Office of School Choice. The school's Web site is at KIPP: Adelante [http://www.kippadelante.org/] (Outside Source).

Both schools were nominated based on their 2004-05 and 2005-06 academic achievement data.

The Title I Program is part of the federal NCLB law. Title I is designed to give academically at-risk children equity and access to a high-quality education in order to reach proficiency on state content standards as measured by state academic assessments.This program as currently constructed has been in operation since 2002. However, the original statute was enacted in 1965 as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The Title I Distinguished School Program is sponsored by the National Association of State Title I Directors, and is designed to recognize outstanding Title I schools that are considered to be national models of excellence.

California has nearly 5,900 Title I schools. For more information on the awards program, please visit Improving Academic Achievement - Title I.