Three schools in San Diego County were tapped by the federal government as Blue Ribbon Schools that have demonstrated dramatic gains in student achievement while serving economically disadvantaged kids: Ericson Elementary, Fletcher Elementary and Florence Elementary. All three are in San Diego Unified.
To be eligible, a school must have met all of its No Child Left Behind testing targets in 2007 and 2008, have test scores ranking in at least the 60th percentile among California schools, and show significant growth in the percentage of kids meeting state standards in English and math from 2004 to 2008.
The schools will be honored in Washington, DC in November.