Magna Awards presented to outstanding school districts
The Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District in California and two Georgia districts, Clarke County and Cherokee County, are the top winners in the American School Board Journal’s 14th annual Magna Awards program.
The Magna Award winners will be honored today at the Third General Session and at the ASBJ Luncheon for School Leaders.
The three Grand Prize winners will each receive $3,500 in scholarship money.
The Magna awards, made possible through the generous support of Sodhexo School Services, recognize districts across the country for outstanding programs that advance student learning and encourage community involvement in schools.
“For more than a decade, the Magna Awards have showcased innovation and bold steps taken by school districts every day to address the many challenges facing public education,” said Marilee Rist, ASBJ’s publisher and assistant executive director of NSBA. “This year’s entries reflect the hard work of school boards, superintendents, and staff who strive to meet changing community needs in creative and innovative ways.”
Lorna Donatone, president of Sodexho School Services, said, “The Magna Awards are a special honor because they celebrate partnerships that challenge traditional approaches and conventional thinking in education. This year’s winners are an inspiration to others because they illustrate how school boards and communities can advance student learning through innovation and perseverance.”
The Grand Prize winner for districts with more than 20,000 students, Cherokee County, based in Canton, Ga., has seen significant demographic changes in the past several years.
The district was honored for “A High School for Every Student,” a program with three components: a non-traditional middle/high school, CrossRoads, serving grades 6-12; the Polaris Evening School, which offers nighttime high school classes; and joint enrollment programs with four local colleges for high-achieving students.
The Clarke County school district, in Athens, Ga., received the top prize in the 5,000 to 20,000 enrollment category for the Classic City High School Performance Learning Center.
An alternative school for students who cannot attend a regular high school full time, the center, offers work experiences, service-learning opportunities, and on-site child care.
Santa Ynez Valley, the Grand Prize winner in the under 5,000 enrollment category, was recognized for Environmental and Spatial Technologies, a project-based, service learning class devoted to using technology to solve school and community problems.
Students learn to use geographic information systems, global positioning systems, animation, video, computer-aided design, graphics, and Web tools. It is the only technology class at Santa Ynez High School where the majority of students are female and minorities.
Magna Awards will be presented to these districts:
Under 5,000 enrollment
• Salem County Vocational Technical Schools, Woodstown, N.J. -- Salem County Arts, Science, and Technology Academies
• Red River Parish, Coushatta, La. -- The Jeannette Lawson Family Center
• North Montgomery Community School Corporation, Crawfordsville, Ind. -- Unique Learning Adventures with the School Board and Local Business Leaders
• Fenton High School District 100, Bensenville, Ill. -- Spanish-Speaking Parent Outreach Program
• Elk Mound (Wis.) Area School District -- Elk Mound School Board Team Development
5,000 to 20,000 enrollment
• Roanoke County (Va.) Public Schools -- Engineering Specialty Center at the Arnold R. Burton Technology Center
• Monroe-Woodbury Central School District, Central Valley, N.Y. -- Healthy Schools Initiative
• Lee’s Summit (Mo.) R-7 School District -- Great Beginnings Early Education Center Capital Campaign
• Lake Stevens (Wash.) School District -- Student Assistance Program
• Columbus County Schools, with Whiteville City Schools and Southeastern Community College, Whiteville, N.C. -- Southeastern Early College High School Partnership Program
20,000 and above enrollment
• Prince William County Public Schools, Manassas, Va. -- Early Identification Program
• Pasco County Public Schools, Land O’Lakes, Fla. -- Resource Recovery/Recycling Program
• Hillsborough County Public Schools, Tampa, Fla. -- Ought To Be A Law
• Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, Evansville, Ind. -- Health Science Institute
• Cumberland County Schools, Fayetteville, N.C. -- Cross Creek Early College High School.
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