Top National Honor Goes to School

THOUSAND OAKS — A homey elementary school with a funky approach to the basics will receive public education’s highest honor--the National Blue Ribbon designation, school officials learned Wednesday.

The honor makes Meadows Elementary School--with its unorthodox “meaning-based” approach to learning--the eighth Ventura County school and the first Conejo Valley Unified School District campus to receive the annual award.

“We all feel elated,” said Principal Tim Stephens. “I think it’s an obvious accolade that our school worked very hard. The parents, teachers and students worked very hard over the last four years to reinvent ourselves. I think everyone is on cloud nine.”

To qualify for the award, given by the U.S. Department of Education, school officials submitted a 20-page-plus application outlining the school’s program. Parents, teachers and students were also interviewed, and a group of educators toured the campus.

Although the Education Department won’t officially announce schools bedecked in blue until Tuesday, Stephens learned of the award when an aide asked Wednesday if Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) could get in on a Blue Ribbon bash for the school.

News spread fast.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” said trustee Dorothy Beaubien. “It’s a Conejo first and an amazing honor that Meadows is a top-notch school doing a wonderful job. There are very few schools in the country that can say this.”

Meadows overhauled its teaching methods four years ago under the stewardship of Stephens, who is retiring in June. Convinced that rote memorization dulled young minds, the teaching staff began emphasizing meaning and themes in lessons.

For example, rather than teach history and reading separately, a theme of immigration throughout history and poems written by immigrants on Ellis Island might be integrated into the curriculum. The school also boasts e-mail and Internet access in every classroom and a PTA that runs performing arts programs weekly.

While the changes--and a report card without letter grades--were criticized by some as skimping on the basics, test scores have crept up.

Parent Debi Lewis, who has two children at Meadows, sees the award as a validation of the school’s program. “It is definitely working,” she said. “They have some wonderful programs. Innovation is the word here, and that is the reason for the success. It’s a shame Dr. Stephens is leaving: He is responsible for this.”

Thousand Oaks City Councilwoman Linda Parks, whose children include three Meadows students and one Meadows grad, said that a few other folks deserve some credit too.

“I know every parent thinks their teachers are the best in the world, but I absolutely think that about Meadows teachers,” she said. “The reason I moved to Thousand Oaks was to get out of Los Angeles Unified before my children started school. I think it was a good move.”

The award boosts Ventura County’s already considerable reputation as a haven of good, safe schools.

The last Ventura County schools to receive the award were Medea Creek Middle School in Oak Park and Charles Blackstock Junior High School in Oxnard, both in 1996.

The National Blue Ribbon program, begun in 1982, honors elementary schools in odd-numbered years and secondary schools in even-numbered years. Schools are judged on academic standards, student achievement, teacher qualifications, school leadership and parental involvement. Last year, 39 schools received Blue Ribbon designation nationwide.

At an “open house/science fair/invention convention” Wednesday night, Meadows parents were abuzz with the good news.

As hundreds of parents and children swarmed the school, they were handed white sheets of paper bearing the Blue Ribbon seal to notify them of the honor.

A 25-year veteran of the Conejo Valley Unified School District, teacher Cheryl Partridge recalled how her school impressed a principal from Montana, who visited as part of the award selection process.

“She kept saying over and over again that she saw so much excellence,” Partridge said. “She commented several times on the literature and problems we give the children to solve. This school prides itself on new ways to teach children, and I think this shows that it works.”

A communitywide celebration for the school--with parents, teachers, students and dignitaries--will be held between 1 and 2:30 p.m. June 9.