State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond recently conferred the title of "California Distinguished School" on Buri Buri and Monte Verde Elementary Schools .
This was the second such recognition for the two schools, which had both previously won the award in 2010.
According to the California Department of Education (CDE), the award for 2023 recognizes the "hard work, dedication, and resilience shown by educators and schools across the state after communities struggled for multiple years with urgent effects to physical and mental health and unprecedented challenges to delivering education."
Schools that receive the designation have typically experienced some success in closing the achievement gap and/or achieving exceptional student performance.
CDE identifies schools for the award by grading criteria such as assessment results, absentee and suspension rates, and other socioeconomic data found in the schools' California School Dashboard.
The State of California previously recognized Monte Verde Elementary with a Pivotal Practice Award in 2022.