La Entrada School, the Las Lomitas Elementary School District’s grade 4-8 school, has for the second time in six years been named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, the only San Mateo County school to receive the designation this year.
“Teachers, staff, parents and students are rightfully excited about this,” said Lisa Cesario, district superintendent.
La Entrada, located at 2200 Sharon Road in Menlo Park, was also named a California Distinguished School in 2011. Schools are eligible to get the Blue Ribbon award only once every six years.
This year, 337 schools in 47 states, including 50 private schools, were given the Blue Ribbon designation. Blue Ribbon schools must either be among the highest achieving in their state or have made significant academic improvement.
La Entrada’s application for the award said the school’s 750 students “benefit from a community that remains constant with consistent rules, familiar teachers, supportive adults, and a close community of families.”
The school’s shared vision is for “rigorous academic programs and positive social and emotional growth without sacrificing art, music and physical education,” the application said.
While La Entrada is in Menlo Park, the school also includes students from Atherton, Portola Valley, Woodside, and East Palo Alto.
Academically, the school “continuously rank(s) at the top of local Bay Area schools … and in the top 100 schools in California. Our Academic Performance Index (API) from 1999-2000 to 2010-2011 has grown from 913 points to 964 points,” the application says.
Other attributes of the school noted in the application: Every student has an iPad to use; 85 percent of parents participate in the school’s PTA or education foundation; and foreign language choices include Spanish, French, Latin and Mandarin.
Principal Shannon Potts noted another reason for La Entrada’s success. “We are so gratified to be able to attract amazing, innovative teachers at La Entrada,” she said. “That’s what keeps our schools on the vanguard and helps us to foster excellence.”
Principal Potts and one other staff representative will travel to Washington, D.C., to receive the award in November.
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