GLENDALE : Edison Named State Distinguished School

Team-teaching concepts, learning through real-life experiences and early intervention programs for elementary school students--those are the marks of a California Distinguished School.

This month, Edison elementary became the only Glendale campus among 178 statewide to be honored this year, officials said. A total of 500 from the state’s 4,900 elementary schools had applied for the 8-year-old award.

“It’s a validation of our efforts,” Edison Principal Joanna Junge said. “It makes me real proud of the staff, the parents and their children.”

In past years, the award for elementary schools was mainly based on student test scores at each campus, said Carol Kennedy, program coordinator at the state Department of Education. This year, officials decided to add a criteria based on how successful schools are applying teaching programs recommended in a state education report titled “It’s Elementary.”

Two educators visited Edison on April 15 and gave high marks for its programs for students at risk of having problems and for those who have limited English proficiency, Junge said. Of the more than 1,000 students on campus, 82% have limited English proficiency.

“We have a lot of collaboration with teachers. . . . We’re trying to have more hands-on learning and more (student) involvement in real life experiences,” Junge said.