In less than two weeks, Margaret Hedrick Elementary School has been the recipient of two state awards.
This week it received the Title I Academic Achievement Award, which recognizes schools that decrease the achievement gap between high and low performance students.
Hedrick is the only school in Imperial County to win the Title I award this year, it was announced Wednesday.
Principal Rauna Fox said the award feels extra special because Hedrick has a large population of second-language learners and special education students. The school is working hard for every level of student and not just its high achievers, she said.
Fox pointed out that the award is a team effort.
“It goes to prove the hard work that my teachers are doing in the classroom and the hard work that the parents are doing with the kids at home,” Fox said.
To be eligible for the award, schools have to have a growth in Academic Performance Index scores that is above the median score for the school’s grade type, according to the California Department of Education Web site.
The median API growth for 2011 was 806. Hedrick had a growth of 855.
Fox credited the strong intervention program as one of the main reasons that Hedrick can have the scores it does.
The intervention program consists in determined students who are falling behind and put them in one of their three sessions: before school, during school and after school.
From 7:30 in the morning until 6 in the afternoon, Hedrick teachers tutor students who are not performing to the best of their abilities.
“We’re very quick to catch children as they begin to fall behind so that no students fall too far behind that they can’t catch up,” Fox said
On March 29, Hedrick got the 2012 California Distinguished Schools award along with McCabe Elementary School.
Fox said that getting the awards makes the whole school district look like the premium district that she says it is.
“It bodes well for the district to have a school that receives two awards within one year,” Fox said.
She also said that strong parent communication, strong support from the district office to implement their programs, a great after-school program and enrichment and fun to make children like coming to school are what makes Hedrick a top school.
“I’m proud of my staff, my parents and my students,” Fox said. “I couldn’t be happier, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here at Hedrick Elementary.”
Multimedia Producer Laura Gonzalez can be reached at 760-337-3440 or lgonzalez@ivpressonline.com
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