Courtesy photos.
OXNARD — Juan Soria School in Oxnard received the Golden Bell Award at recognition ceremony held on Nov. 29 at the California School Boards Association (CSBA) Annual Education Conference and Trade Show in SanFrancisco.
Juan Soria School is one of 51 recipients of the Golden Bell Award — California’s leading educational honor—for its 80/20 Spanish Dual Language Immersion Program.
The Golden Bell Awards are sponsored by CSBA to recognize outstanding public school programs for innovation, sustainability and best practices that facilitate positive student outcomes.
CSBA is a nonprofit education association representing the elected officials who govern public school districts and county offices of education. With a membership of nearly 1,000 educational agencies statewide, CSBA brings together school governing boards and district and county office administrators to advocate for effective policies that advance the education and well-being of the state’s more than 6 million school-age children.
“I am extremely proud of Juan Soria’s accomplishment of being recognized with a Golden Bell by the California School Board Association,” said Dr. Cesar Morales, Superintendent of the Oxnard School District. “The Dual Language Immersion program at Soria is a model for OSD and a model program that is recognized statewide.”
Dr. Morales added that the dedicated students, teachers, staff, and parents collaborated daily to make the DLI program at Juan Soria flourish.
“A special thanks to our school board for establishing the vision of establishing our first dual language program at Juan Soria in 2009,” Morales said. “Not only has our first program evolved into a model program, but we have continued the momentum by developing biliteracy programs in half of our school district.”
A 17-member judging panel for the award was comprised of experts from school districts and county offices of education who reviewed the written entries and made the initial recommendations for the awards. Onsite validators assessed the programs in action. This year’s awards are presented to school districts and county offices of education helping students achieve through after-school programs, mentoring, instructional interventions, use of data and other innovations.
“The Golden Bell recipients exemplify the spirit of innovation and excellence for which all of California’s public schools strive,” said CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy. “The Golden Bell Awards reflect the depth and breadth of outstanding education offerings in our state, and demonstrate the tenacity, vision and dedication of school leaders across California.”
To learn more about the Golden Bell awards, visit the California School Boards Association’s Golden Bell website at https://gb.csba.org/.