1999-12-03 04:00:00 PDT NORTH BAY -- Two North Bay elementary schools have earned high marks from the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon Schools program.
Sheppard Accelerated Elementary of Santa Rosa and Glenwood School of San Rafael have been named National Schools of Excellence. They are two of 266 elementary schools to receive the honor this year.
"We're in a very low-income area and provide a lot of different services for our students and their families," said Gail Ahlas, principal of Sheppard Accelerated Elementary. Ahlas said the school, at 1777 West Ave., provides English classes for families, GED testing, an on-site social worker and after-school enrichment classes that include trips to museums.
"This place is pretty much humming every night at least until five o'clock," Ahlas said. "We're in an urban-like area, in a school district with only two schools, and are the primary entry point for immigrants entering the Santa Rosa area."
Strong parent participation also plays a critical role in the school's success, she said.
"We had a Sheppard reading party a few weeks ago and about 200 people showed up," said Ahlas. Not bad for a school of 592 K-6 students. "We had reading centers set up and gave away free book raffle tickets to people just for attending."
Kathy O'Keefe, principal at Glenwood School, said, "There's really no one program that resulted in us being named a Blue Ribbon School.
"We just took aspects of a lot of different things that were going right at other schools until we had a finely choreographed orchestra."
National Schools of Excellence are first nominated by the California Department of Education and then selected by the U.S. Department of Education.
For more information about the Blue Ribbon Schools program, call Norma Carolan at the California Department of Education, (916) 657-3799.
SCIENCE WHIZ: Jennifer Klay , a 1990 graduate of Santa Rosa's Ursuline High School , recently returned to her alma mater to speak to two physics classes and the science club about her work at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island . Klay told students about her search for the matter that resulted in the 10 microseconds following the Big Bang.
Klay is studying for a doctorate in experimental nuclear physics at the University of California at Davis, where she also earned her master's degree in physics. She earned a bachelor's degree in astrophysics from the University of California at Los Angeles. Klay also works as a postgraduate researcher in the UC Davis Heavy Ion and Nuclear Physics Group.
COLLEGIATE SCHOLAR: San Domenico School alumna Courtney Elkin has been named a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars . Elkin is a junior at the University of California at Los Angeles. She is the daughter of Wayne and Wendy Elkin of Mill Valley.
Information for School Notes can be mailed to North Bay Friday/The Chronicle, 901 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103. Fax to (415) 777-5781, or e-mail to nbayfriday@ sfgate.com.
You must be signed in to comment
Sign In