EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AWARDS

Senator Boxer established the Excellence in Education Awards to recognize and raise awareness of teachers, parents, businesses, and organizations that are working to make positive changes in education.

2002

Adams Elementary School, Santa Barbara
Adams Elementary School is one of five schools in the Santa Barbara Elementary School District that offers the A-OK (After School Opportunities for Kids) Afterschool Program. The program's staff helps 100 children daily to improve their academic and athletic skills. The program operates in partnership with the Santa Barbara City Parks and Recreation Department, Girls Inc., and Family Service Agency.

Smart Start San José Early Education Program
Smart Start San José's goal is to increase access to quality, affordable, early childhood care and education for local children and families. A component of San José Mayor Ron Gonzales's Education initiative, it is a model public-private partnership, providing programs and training to preschool teachers. Because of Smart Start San José, more children can gain the skills which will better prepare them for kindergarten. Senator Boxer, joined by Mayor Gonzales, presented her Excellence in Education Award at the Smart Start San José's McKinley Elementary School.

The Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA)
The Mexican American Community Services Agency of San Jose provides an afterschool program and other services to Santa Clara County. Its Youth Center offers a computer literacy program, recreational activities, daycare, career counseling, tutoring and MACSA's innovative approach to gang intervention and academic initiatives.

The North Coast Interpretive Association and the California Coastal Conservancy
The hard work and dedication of the North Coast Interpretive Association and the California Coastal Conservancy has resulted in the restoration of the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. Visitors who tour the station learn the value of coastal ecology, public access to coastal properties, and Mendocino history. They can also enjoy a photo exhibit on the Lighthouse and its restoration process. The Point Cabrillo Lighthouse is one of the most well preserved light stations on the West Coast.

2001

Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, San Francisco

Virginia Rocca Barton Elementary School, Salinas

Save the Bay's "Canoes in Sloughs" Program
A unique, on-the-water, experimental education program, Canoes in Sloughs enables young people to explore the Bay-Delta estuary up close. Students are accompanied by certified canoe instructors who explain the Bay's many wonders. This hands-on program teaches young people about the importance of a healthy and biologically diverse ecosystem.

Kentfield School District
The Kentfield School District implemented a pest management program to protect children and the environment from pesticides and other toxic substances. The district, in collaboration with the Pesticide Education Group, a parent-led organization that established the program, applies methods using alternatives to pesticides, and when necessary to use a pesticide, uses the least toxic substance possible.

2000

The East Oakland Boxing Association's "Smart Moves" Afterschool Program
Smart Moves is a community-based youth center that combines an afterschool program, athletic training, educational instruction, and life skills programs. Begun in 1992, it serves as many as 50 young people daily. Over the years Stanley Garcia and his staff have helped young people meet challenges in the classroom, and encouraged them to excel in all aspects of their lives.

Luther Burbank High School's Opportunity Knocks Program
Opportunity Knocks is a program launched in 1998 by former Luther Burbank High Principal Barbara Tracy. It was designed to reduce truancy and improve career prospects by helping at-risk students find part-time jobs, and gain access to trained mentors in the workplace. During the school year, students work part-time in the school administrative office by performing office support duties, such as filing and answering phones. During the summer months, government and non-profit organizations provide summer jobs.

1999

Capuchino High School's "Sojourn to the Past" Program
Jeff Steinberg, a teacher at Capuchino High School, was recognized for creating the living history experience called "Sojourn to the Past". In this program, Bay Area high school students are taken on a tour of the South, visiting landmarks of the Civil Rights Movement. In this way, Mr. Steinberg teaches students an important part of our nation's history, as well as the need for tolerance and understanding.

Harold Woods, Jefferson Elementary School
Clovis Unified School District's Teacher of the Year for 1997, Harold Woods spent his entire 46-year career teaching at Jefferson Elementary. A dedicated teacher, Principal Geoffrey Tiftick described him as an "incredible human being" known for his remarkable ability to connect with students.

The Fourth R at Crocker/Riverside Elementary School
The Fourth R Program (which stands for Reading, Writing, Arithmetic and Recreation) is a year-round before- and after-school child care and child development program at Crocker/Riverside Elementary School in Sacramento. Sponsored by the City of Sacramento, the Crocker/Riverside program is the largest in Sacramento with over 160 children. Four more centers opened in fall 1999 to give more children the opportunity to have a positive and educational place to go before and after school.

Eastside Cybrary Connection
The Eastside Cybrary Connection is a popular after-school program in Riverside, California, where students learn to use computers to surf the Internet, play games, learn word processing and other computer skills. The Cybrary is a project of the Riverside Public Library and gives kids a safe and educational place to go during after school hours.

San Bernardino Mayor Judith Valles
San Bernardino's Mayor Judith Valles has a 40-year background in education which includes being an elementary school teacher, a community college president, and a community college trustee. She has adopted Ramona-Alessandro Elementary School and is a strong supporter of the school's Blight Buster program which brings students, school staff, and parents together to cleanup the school and neighborhood.

1998

Henry C. Hall Middle School
Henry C. Hall Middle School in Larkspur was one of six California middle schools to be named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education for 1998-99. The Blue Ribbon program recognizes outstanding schools and encourages them to share their successful efforts with others as a way of improving education across the country.

Alice Waters
In 1993, Chez Panisse Chef Alice Waters created the Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley where students learn about growing, preparing, serving, and eating food from the garden. Over 900 students participate in the program during the school year.

MCI
MCI established its MCI LibraryLINK program to increase Internet access in America's public libraries. The San Francisco, San Diego, and Sacramento Public Libraries are just a few of the many that received generous grants from MCI to make their catalogs available on-line and provide Internet access to library patrons. In San Francisco, an MCI grant will also fund enhancements to the Children's Electronic Discovery Center.

California PTA
The California PTA received this award for its leadership to keep schools safer by passing a resolution supporting local, state, and federal legislation that places safety standards on domestically produced handguns. Following the California PTA's example, the National PTA passed a similar resolution.

Amalia Cardenas
A former student at Ethel Phillips Elementary School in Sacramento, Amalia Cardenas was surprised when she returned to campus as a parent and saw its buildings still in need of repairs that should have been made while she was attending the school. There were broken windows, leaky classroom ceilings with garbage cans under them to catch rain water, and a number of other problems that needed attention. Amalia worked with the school and district staff to identify needed repairs. Largely because of her efforts, the school is getting a new roof. In addition to her efforts to repair our crumbling schools, Amalia has served as the PTA president and on a number of school and district advisory committees.

Janet Eddy
Janet Eddy is a retired teacher who now volunteers at Katherine Finchy Elementary School, where she assists bilingual students in language arts and math. The second grade students under Janet's instruction have improved their speaking and writing skills.

Sylvia Horowitz
Sylvia Horowitz is a Rolling Reader at Vista del Monte School in Palm Springs. Because of Sylvia's efforts, the Rolling Reader program makes free books available to second graders at Vista del Monte School and has helped improve literacy.

Healthy Ventures
Healthy Ventures runs several programs that aim to help Mountain View area children be successful in school. More than 20 agencies and organizations, including school districts, hospitals, and business organizations, are involved with the program.

1997

Stockton Police Officer Rob Kroff
Officer Rob Kroff is a School Resource Officer at Pacific School and Sierra Middle School in Stockton where he teaches D.A.R.E. programs and Safe Kids Academy. He eats lunch with kids in the lunchroom, attends special events, and even visits kids and their families at home when necessary. The School Resource Officer program is designed to reach out to at-risk students and provide them with friends and role models.

Baldwin Park Unified School District Health Services staff
The Baldwin Park Unified School District Health Services staff provides on-campus health services to students in the 20 schools in the district. In addition, the staff often volunteers their free time to participate in community health fairs where they share important health information with families and children. Working closely with a number of organizations such as the Kids Kare-A-Van, Citrus Valley Health Partners, Kaiser Permanente, the Los Angeles County Office of Education, and the East Valley Community Health Center, the Baldwin Park Unified School District Health Services staff has built partnerships between schools and local health service providers. Staff members include Supervisor Barbara Crofts; School Nurses Shayne Golden, Arline Jones, Emmy LeBrun, Ruth Spencer, and Carol Strother; Health Clerks Diane Latimer and Laura Ortega; and support staff members Monica Pelaez, Cecilia Seman, and Lilia Garcia.

Deanna Bowers
A school nurse at the Central School District in Rancho Cucamonga for 24 years, Deanna Bowers supervised health services in seven schools and designed educational programs for drug, tobacco, and alcohol abuse, developed programs for physically handicapped students, and ensured that students received immunizations and health exams. Working with the California School Nurses Organization, Deanna developed programs to help school nurses throughout the state offer the highest quality care.

Margaret Cotten
Margaret Cotten is a volunteer with the San Mateo-Foster City School District's Early Learning Center Program, a preschool program for low-income children and their families. She has donated hundreds of hours working in classrooms and has raised more than half a million dollars in grants and private funds for this successful program. A former teacher and businesswoman, Margaret has helped the Early Learning Center in so many ways that its staff simply calls her their "Guardian Angel." Margaret's leadership and dedication have helped give hundreds of children a jump start on success in school.

Peninsula Community Foundation
Peninsula Community Foundation supports dozens of schools in both San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and provides funds for numerous local educational programs. The Foundation established a wide range of scholarships to help students, particularly those in underserved and underfunded schools. It has also offered grants to teachers to help them create innovative and engaging learning environments and provided funding to over 45 local schools for programs in literacy, analytical thinking, and group problem-solving. In 1996, the foundation awarded more than $19 million in grants to more than 700 organizations.

Steve "Rocky" Villasana
Rocky Villasana is a Hayward native, graduate of Hayward High, and a parent of students at three Hayward public schools. At each school, he serves on parent committees and participates in a variety of school-related activities including the Parent Club, School Site Council, and Bilingual Advisory Committee. Rocky frequently serves as a counselor to students who get in trouble at school, working with them and their families to resolve disciplinary problems. He serves on the Hayward Police Department's Youth Coalition. In his neighborhood, Rocky is known as "the Mayor of Dixon Street" because of his work on the Neighborhood Watch, Red Ribbon Week, and other crime-prevention programs.

Marianne Camp
Marianne Camp taught in the Hayward Unified School District for 25 years. Starting as a preschool teacher, she eventually taught all the primary grades. In 1992, she was named a Mentor Teacher for her outstanding work in the classroom. Because of her success as an educator, the school district selected Marianne to develop, test, and help implement a comprehensive set of standards for district students.

Mayrene Bates
With over 30 years of work in education, Mayrene Bates has served as a teacher, librarian, principal and assistant superintendent. Her work as the coordinator for NetDays I, II and III helped make them a huge success in Solano County, where they continue to hold their own NetDays throughout the district.

David & Jadyne Buchholz
David and Jadyne Buchholz are extremely active volunteers in Santa Rosa schools. Both are former teachers and David is a former school board member. Together they were named 1997 Volunteers of the Year by the Santa Rosa School Board of Education. Although their work helped students throughout the district, they focused most of their efforts on Elsie Allen High School, volunteering in classrooms, editing the parent newsletter, and working at bake sales and raffles.

Mendocino Community Network
The Mendocino Community Network is a network established by the Mendocino Unified School District that provides Internet access to local residents and businesses. The school district uses the profits from this business to provide Internet access to its schools. Because of the success of this program, all of the district's students have access to the Internet and the opportunity to learn the skills that will prepare them for work in the 21st Century.

Dr. Ray Charlson
Dr. Ray Charlson has served in the Monterey County education system as a teacher, principal, district superintendent, and County Superintendent of Schools. He had recently retired as President of the County Board of Education when he received Senator Boxer's Excellence in Education Award.

Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard company partnered with the Bay Area Schools for Excellence in Education, which is comprised of eight school districts in Silicon Valley. The collaborative works to improve science and math education in elementary schools by providing training for teachers to improve their background in these subjects. Its ultimate goal is to prepare and encourage more students to enter careers in science and engineering.

Wayne Scheppele
Known by many students in the North Hollywood/Studio City area simply as "Grandpa," Wayne Scheppele is an outstanding volunteer at local schools, particularly Walter Reed Middle School and Colfax Elementary School. At Reed Middle School, Wayne serves on the PTA, LEARN Governance Council, the School Improvement Council, and the Technology Committee. His wide range of volunteer activities includes supervising students on field trips, photographing school events, and repairing and operating the school's audio-visual equipment.

Los Angeles Philharmonic
The L.A. Philharmonic adopted a local middle school 13 years ago, where it performs for students. L.A. Philharmonic musicians also visit the school to discuss the type of work they do. The organization also donates tickets to schools and families.

Chuck & Nancy Foster
Chuck and Nancy Foster are a dynamic duo who have contributed more than 15 years of volunteer work to improving public education in Davis. Nancy is the president of the Davis Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has, among other things, purchased computers for every school library in Davis. Chuck was an active leader of the school district's Future Facilities Task Force, which developed a master plan for school facilities through 2010, and chairs the Facilities Finance Committee, which works to create a plan to finance facilities.

SASCO Data Systems
SASCO established a partnership with Silver Creek High School in San Jose to work with its Institute of Management & Technology to prepare students for careers in computer science, telecommunications and biotechnology. Along with Foothill College, Silver Creek and SASCO have created a challenging and rewarding internship program. SASCO also supplied valuable equipment and wired Silver Creek (as well as other area schools) as part of NetDay.

Harold "Hal" Zuckerman
Hal Zuckerman was a Diablo Valley College (DVC) student when the school opened in 1949 and still takes classes at DVC in Pleasant Hill for personal enrichment. He established the Harold F. Zuckerman Scholarship to recognize students' academic achievement and to give them the financial assistance they need to continue their education. As a teacher for 47 years, a Superintendent of John Swett Unified School District, and a generous supporter of DVC, Hal has made a significant contribution to Bay Area students.

Aaron Price Fellows Program
Established by the Price Family Charities, the Aaron Price Fellows Program in San Diego gives its high school participants the opportunity to learn government, business, and culture. Fellows spend three years visiting a variety of organizations, learning about career opportunities, and meeting students from different ethnic, religious and economic backgrounds.

Dr. Doris Alvarez
Dr. Doris Alvarez was named National Principal of the Year in 1997 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. As the principal at Hoover High School in San Diego, Dr. Alvarez worked to raise academic standards, involve students in community service, use technology in the curriculum, and provide free medical care and social services for students.

Coyote Canyon Elementary School
Under the leadership of Principal Melanie Sowa, Coyote Canyon Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga established a partnership with Thompson Engineering, which has donated computer and television equipment to this California Distinguished School. The school's 700 students use this technology to produce their own daily television show.

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