School to celebrate its National Blue Ribbon School honor

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. ― Allen Elementary School will officially acknowledge its National Blue Ribbon School award in a celebration set for Feb. 15 for all students, staff, school parents and invited VIP guests.

 The event will feature choral performances, introductions of student speech contest winners, an overview of the National Blue Ribbon School program and the official presentation of the Blue Ribbon School flag and plaque given in November to Allen representatives in Washington, D.C., according to Andrew Heughins, principal. A reception follows in the multi-purpose room.

 Allen was among 304 nationwide winners – including four from Orange County – given the award last fall as announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

 The Blue Ribbon program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, recognizes schools that are either academically superior or demonstrate dramatic gains in student performance while narrowing gaps in achievement especially among disadvantaged and minority students. Allen School met both standards for the Blue Ribbon award.

 The 2011 winners were nominated in the previous year on the basis of their achievement history for 2006 to 2010, but to earn final Blue Ribbon certification, the schools had to reach or surpass all 2011 state and federal accountability targets.

With an enrollment of more than 800 children, 30 percent of Allen students are classified as English learners, 69 percent come from households where a second language is spoken, and more than one-third qualify for free or discounted school meals. Despite its challenges, the school is among the top academic performers in the state and in Orange County.

 The school, for example, is a consistently high-performer on the state Academic Performance Index or API, a composite of test scores that ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1000. The school’s API has continuously exceeded the elite 900 mark since 2004, with a 2011 API of 980.