The Eureka Award for Performance Excellence™ is the top level award offered by CCE and adheres to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria. The Eureka Award offers seven categories: Large and Small Service; Education; Health Care; Non-Profit; Government; and, Military. The award consists of a full Baldrige-based application using the most current criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

2007 CAPE Feedback Report Summary

Congratulations to Dina Piazza-Ramsey, Victor Elementary School District's Teacher of the Year. Dina was selected out of 520 teachers to be honored this year. She has been employed by VESD since 1996 and has distinguished herself as a leader and innovator at Brentwood Elementary School. In the past, she taught in the primary grades, but currently teaches sixth grade. She developed a very unique program using the AVID program, which encourages students to take ownership of their own learning and their future. The relationships she develops with her students and their families allows her to help them thrive both personally and educationally, and be better prepared for the next step in their educational journey. Thank you, Dina, for all you do for our students and our District!

Congratulations to Roger Busch, our District Classified Employee of the Year. Roger has been employed by VESD since 1998 in the maintenance and operations department as an Electrician. We are so fortunate to have someone with such great experience and technical skills in this area, as hiis work is a critical ingredient in allowing sites to offer educational programs. Roger is known for his excellent workmanship and outstanding work ethic. He has been a leader on the maintenance crew, especially in the area of promoting safety for our employees. Thank you, Roger, for being a such a knowledgeable electrician and a positive employee. You exemplify our District motto, "Whatever it Takes!" every day.

This year, our John L. Levell Humanitarian Award recipient is Debbie Fimbres, an outstanding and dedicated employee who has served our district since 1995. Her position as Instructional Aide/RSP at Challenger has allowed her to lead small groups of math and reading interventions as she encourages students through attitude and their commitment to learning. She is encouraging and consistently demonstrates responsibility in all her professional duties. “Debbie is responsible for supporting Special Ed, and she does it well and with little fanfare,” said Audrey Howard, Principal at Challenger. “...she sees the value in every person, therefore, in any interaction with her, you come away feeling endorsed and motivated,” concluded Ms. Howard.

Sixth Street Prep School was named as a California Business for Education Excellence (CBEE) and Just for the Kids California Honor Roll School for 2007. This recognition came as a result of Sixth Street Prep's outstanding success in raising student academic achievement. After reviewing the student achievement data for every public school in California, CBEE found that Sixth Street Prep School stood well above the rest in getting students to grade level proficiency and closing the achievement gaps.

"CBEE Honor Roll schools dispel the myth that certain students can't reach grade-level proficiency and that schools with a challenging student population can't succeed. CBEE Honor Roll schools are tackling their challenges head on and are overcoming them. They set goals and hold themselves and their students to high expectations." - Greg Jones, CBEE Foundation Chairman

Awarded to Sixth Street Prep School October 2007

The award program, which emulates the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, recognizes companies and organizations that demonstrate continuous improvement and superior performance in several key areas including leadership, strategic planning, student learning results, budgetary and financial results, faculty and staff focus, organizational effectiveness and social responsibility.

District Awarded April 2006

This is a national recognition program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The program encourages states to nominate public kindergarten through grade twelve schools that are either academically superior or demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. "I congratulate these schools on this special recognition," said State Superintendent Jack O'Connell. "These fine schools are shining examples of our improving school system, and the teachers, students, and parents should be proud of their tremendous accomplishment.

Brentwood Elementary 2003

Lomitas Elementary 1999

The California School Recognition Program was created in 1985 to publicize and reinforce the priorities of the State Board of Education and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The program identifies and honors some of the state's most exemplary and inspiring public schools with the California Distinguished School Award. Although participation is voluntary, the award is highly sought after by schools in all areas of the state. State Superintendent of Schools Jack O'Connell says "These schools are the best of the best. They share a vision of excellence and they have brought that vision to life."

Galileo Academy Elementary 2008

Brentwood Elementary 2002 and 2006

Liberty Elementary 1993

Lomitas Elementary 1998, 2002 and 2006

Park View Elementary 1993, 1997 and 2004

The Academy of Performing Arts and Foreign Language 2006

Village Elementary 1995, 2000 and 2004

The Title I Academic Achievement Awards Program recognizes schools that are demonstrating success in ensuring all students are making significant progress toward proficiency on California's academic content standards. These standards define the knowledge, concepts, and skills students are expected to acquire at each grade level. "This award is a prestigious recognition for each school that has worked hard to improve its students’ academic achievement in spite of their disadvantaged backgrounds," said State Superintendent Jack O’Connell. "There is a clear record of schools staying on track and improving year after year."

Brentwood Elementary 2002 and 2004

Sixth Street Prep school 2006 and 2007

Schools were chosen from No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Award winners according to the number of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunches, high state test scores, and diversity of size, grade levels, and geographic location.

Brentwood Elementary 2002

The Academic Performance Index (API) is the cornerstone of California's Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 (PSAA). The purpose of the API is to measure the academic performance and growth of schools. It is a numeric index (or scale) that ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1000. A school's score on the API is an indicator of a school's performance level. The statewide API performance target for all schools is 800. A school's growth is measured by how well it is moving toward or past that goal. A school's API Base is subtracted from its API Growth to determine how much the school improved in a year.

The Academy of Performing Arts and Foreign Language

Discovery School of the Arts

Endeavour Elementary

Galileo Academy

Mountain View Montessori

Lomitas Elementary

Sixth Street Prep School

In addition to statewide ranks, schools also are ranked compared to 100 other schools with similar demographic characteristics. For the similar schools rank, schools also are ranked into deciles according to school type: elementary, middle, and high. To determine the similar schools rank for a school, a comparison group of 100 similar schools of the same type is formed for that school, based on similar demographic characteristics. The APIs for this group of 100 schools are ranked into ten categories of equal size, called deciles, from one (lowest) to ten (highest). Each decile contains 10 percent of all of the 100 similar schools in the comparison group. The school's similar schools rank is the decile where that school's API Base falls compared with the Base APIs of the 100 other similar schools in the comparison group.

Brentwood Elementary

Del Rey Elementary

Park View Elementary

Sixth Street Prep

Village Elementary

The district received the national MAGNA Award for its Student Leadership Development Program, which also has received several county awards. The Student Leadership Development Program builds leadership skills in students to help them with future success in the world of work. Our students learn human relations and career-related skills. They developed 12 statements called "Basics to Success" which define positive student interaction with peers, staff, and community. Students visit local businesses and interact with business leaders; and they have spoken formally about the program to neighboring school district leaders, at community functions, and to the chamber of commerce.

District received this award April 2007

Bonstingl Leadership Development is a full-service international consulting firm specializing in Baldrige and Quality-based solutions for world-class leaders.

District received this award July 2005