2024 California Distinguished Schools Announced
Thirty-eight middle and high schools in Orange County are among the 293 campuses recognized statewide for the high honor awarded by the California Department of Education.
The list is out for the 2024 California Distinguished Schools. On Feb. 29, the California Department of Education announced that 293 campuses statewide were given its highest recognition. That includes 38 middle and high schools in Orange County. (Scroll down for complete list of O.C. schools.)
The Capistrano Unified School District, Orange County’s largest, had six campuses recognized, the most of any local district this year.
“These schools were recognized for excelling in closing the achievement gap and delivering exceptional student performance. We always knew they were great, thanks [to] the California Department of Education for agreeing,” Capistrano Unified wrote in an Instagram post.
The Anaheim Union High School District had five campuses recognized and the Irvine Unified School District had four.
“IUSD is proud of our students, staff and parents, who exemplify our mission to provide the highest quality educational experience we can envision," IUSD Board of Education President Cyril Yu said in a statement. "Congratulations to our schools for this prestigious designation.”
The California Distinguished Schools program uses a school’s performance on metrics featured in the California School Dashboard in giving awards, including students' scores on state testing. Schools can be recognized for exceptional student performance or closing the achievement gap. The first category celebrates “exemplary performance in English Language Arts (ELA) and math, reducing suspensions, and demonstrating high graduation rates” for high schools.
If a school was selected for closing the achievement gap, at least 40% of its students must be from "socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds." In addition to "demonstrating exemplary overall performance in ELA and math" the campus must also "achieve accelerated academic growth for one or more historically underserved student groups.”
The California Distinguished Schools program alternates its awards between elementary and secondary schools every year. That means the recognized schools can hold the title for two years.
Both middle schools in the Los Alamitos Unified School District were recognized as California Distinguished Schools this year.
Oak Middle School and McAuliffe Middle School were both honored for "exceptional student performance, achieved through exemplary performance in English Language Arts (ELA) and math, as well as reducing suspensions," according to the district.
"We take immense pride in the unwavering dedication and hard work exhibited by our students, teachers, staff, and community," Andrew Pulver, Ed.D., Superintendent of Los Alamitos USD said in a news release. "The California Distinguished Schools designation is a testament to our ongoing commitment to excellence in education and underscores our focus on ensuring the success of every student."
Two charter schools in Orange County also made the list: El Rancho Charter School and Santiago Charter Middle School both in the Orange Unified School District. They are among 58 charter schools statewide that received recognition in 2024, according to the California Charter Schools Association.
Since the program began in 1985, a total of 874 awards have been given to schools in Orange County, according to the OCDE Newsroom.
All of the 2024 California Distinguished Schools will be honored in Orange County later this year. They will be recognized during a ceremony in Anaheim at the Disneyland Hotel on May 3, 2024. The 2023 National Blue Ribbon Schools, 2023 Civic Learning Award Schools, and 2023 and 2024 California Exemplary Dual Enrollment Award Schools will also be celebrated.
“This year’s California Distinguished Schools celebration provides us with an opportunity to recognize the hard work of our secondary educators and school staff who help our young adults discover passions and access college- and career-ready experiences that will propel them through life,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond stated in a news release.
The full list of O.C. schools named 2024 California Distinguished Schools are:
- Cypress High, Anaheim Union High School District
- John F. Kennedy High, Anaheim Union High School District
- Lexington Junior High, Anaheim Union High School District
- Magnolia High, Anaheim Union High School District
- Oxford Academy, Anaheim Union High School District
- Buena Park Middle, Buena Park Elementary School District
- Bernice Ayer Middle, Capistrano Unified School District
- Carl Hankey Middle, Capistrano Unified School District
- Esencia Middle, Capistrano Unified School District
- Las Flores Middle, Capistrano Unified School District
- Marco Forster Middle, Capistrano Unified School District
- Niguel Hills Middle, Capistrano Unified School District
- Masuda (Kazuo) Middle, Fountain Valley Elementary School District
- Fullerton Union High, Fullerton Joint Union High School District
- Sonora High, Fullerton Joint Union High School District
- Hilton D. Bell Intermediate, Garden Grove Unified School District
- Sarah McGarvin Intermediate, Garden Grove Unified School District
- Ethel Dwyer Middle, Huntington Beach City Elementary School District
- Jeffrey Trail Middle, Irvine Unified School District
- Northwood High, Irvine Unified School District
- South Lake Middle, Irvine Unified School District
- Venado Middle, Irvine Unified School District
- Oak Middle, Los Alamitos Unified School District
- Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle, Los Alamitos Unified School District
- Rancho-Starbuck Intermediate, Lowell Joint School District
- Corona del Mar High, Newport-Mesa Unified School District
- Estancia High, Newport-Mesa Unified School District
- Canyon High, Orange Unified School District
- El Rancho Charter, Orange Unified School District
- Santiago Middle, Orange Unified School District
- Kraemer Middle, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District
- La Paz Intermediate, Saddleback Valley Unified School District
- Mission Viejo High, Saddleback Valley Unified School District
- Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate, Saddleback Valley Unified School District
- Legacy Magnet Academy, Tustin Unified School District
- Pioneer Middle, Tustin Unified School District
- Tustin High, Tustin Unified School District
- Helen Stacey Middle, Westminster School District
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include information about schools honored in Los Alamitos USD and Orange Unified.