Dwyer quietly nabs state honor

Coral Wilson

The news hit an empty campus Wednesday when Ethel Dwyer Middle School

joined the top ranks as a California Distinguished School.

As carefree students enjoyed their spring break, teachers and

school officials anxiously awaited the good news and rejoiced in

their homes.

When school resumes on Monday, the news will be celebrated by all.

“It was really a culmination of a lot of hard work and it just

ended up confirming what we all felt and believed in our hearts,”

said Canzone, a performing arts teacher.

After teaching at the school for 35 years, math teacher Debb Clay

said the award is significant because she has seen the school at its

worst. When the superintendent of the state visited the school in the

late 1970s, his recommendation was to burn it, she said.

“It is a phenomenal evolution at that school and I have been there

to see it all, so this is really exciting for me,” Clay said. “It

took the parents, the teachers and someone at the top to pull it

together. It is kind of a testament to where we are going.”

The California Distinguished School Award is one of the highest

honors a school can achieve in the state. As part of the School

Recognition Program created in 1985, the purpose is to reward schools

and provide a model for others.

“It is a phenomenal process because it really makes your teachers,

community and students evaluate if you are doing the things that the

state of California encourages in order to be an exemplary school,”

said Principal Duane Cox.

The award is also a necessary criteria to becoming a National Blue

Ribbon School. The nation’s highest honor for a school is one that

Circle View Elementary School is waiting to hear if it will receive.

Schools qualify as a distinguished school based on an extensive

application process, test scores and a site visit from state

officials.

At Dwyer, Cox and a dedicated writing team worked together to

complete the application process. The team has been working on the

application since September and the students have been supportive

through the whole process, she said.

“[The students] are the whole reason we are a distinguished

school,” Canzone said. “If we didn’t have their support, we would be

nowhere.”

The school is now eligible to apply for recognition as a Blue

Ribbon School next year. And Cox said that is absolutely the team’s

next goal.

“Then you look at the national benchmarks and move toward either

recognizing that you achieved those benchmarks or work toward meeting

them,” Cox said.

The evaluation process was helpful in identifying school programs

that are successful and those that need improvement. The needs of

at-risk students and the school’s reading program are important areas

that Cox said he will continue to work on and strengthen.

Cox said he is especially impressed with the student activities

program. Students plan spirit activities and interface with adults

through their involvement with the Parent Teacher Student Assn.

“Our students really have a voice in the leadership of our

school,” he said. “Through the writing of the application, we

realized that students are empowered to be leaders at Dwyer.”