Moreland School District is the last of the three Campbell school districts to kick off the 2011-12 school year, opening its doors to new and returning students Monday.
The school district is starting the new school year with a new superintendent, Mark Barmore, who is taking Glen Ishiwata's place.
The school district is also starting off the school year with lots of goodies aimed at making the overall learning atmosphere better for both students and teachers.
During the summer, the district kicked off the Measure K construction campaign, with projects at Anderson, Country Lane and schools.
Solar tubes aimed at increasing the natural daylight in the classrooms as well as tech centers, including LCD projectors in the ceilings, have been installed in each classroom.
Baker, Payne and EDS are all slated for similar work the summer of 2012.
But before starting the new year, the district finished off the 2010-11 school year with various accolades to its name.
"This is kind of a peak year for us," Ishiwata said. "The teachers and principals are taking a wonderfully passionate route toward this work that we’ve been doing, and that’s why we are seeing the gains that we are seeing."
Here are some of the highlights:
Magna Awards
Moreland School District was the only district on the West Coast honored with the Magna Awrd, which it shares with two other districts, one from Florida and Missouri.
The Moreland School District earned the grand prize in the "Under 5,000 Enrollment" category for its outstanding success in closing student achievement gap at Anderson Village Elementary School.
The Magna Awards are supported by Sodexo School Services, and each of the school districts received $4,000 in scholarship money.
Goldin Foundation for Excellence in Education Award
Two of Moreland School District's teachers were winners of the Goldin Foundation for Excellence in Education Award.
Chelsea Armann, a sixth-grade teacher at Moreland Middle School, was recognized for her exemplary teaching style and dedication to student improvement.
Susie Morales, a preschool teacher and enrichment coordinator for the Moreland Child Development Center, was recognized for bringing a well-defined balance to the preschool students and community and keeping families returning and enrollment high.
Moreland Middle School received the county award this year, which brings not only the recognition but also a $500 check.
Moreland was honored for its "Road To Academic Achievement" program, a school program aimed at closing the student achievement gap, and was the only middle school out of the five schools honored to receive this recognition this year.
Anderson Village School received the Golden Bell Award for "Closing the Achievement Gap" from the California School Boards Association.
The Golden Bell Award recognizes programs in 19 major categories, including closing the achievement gap. Anderson was the only Santa Clara County school on the list. It was one of 10 recipients of the award in the "Closing the Achievement Gap" category in the state. The Golden Bell Awards are now in its 31st year.
