The California Gold Ribbon Schools Award was created to honor schools in place of the California Distinguished Schools Program, which is on hiatus while California creates new assessment and accountability systems. Schools applied for the award based on a model program their school has adopted that includes standards-based activities, projects, strategies and practices that can be replicated by other local educational agencies. Below are details about the model program each school highlighted through the Gold Ribbon application process. While all IUSD schools implement innovative programs, the three 2016 Gold Ribbon schools demonstrated how they uniquely implement the following programs.
Cypress Village Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) – A program designed to create a positive school culture by engaging students through ongoing expectations, communications and feedback between teachers, staff and students. Cypress Village utilizes STORM to teach behavioral expectations. STORM represents the school’s behavioral norms, Safety first, Take responsibility, On time and ready, Respect, and Make a difference. To learn more about PBIS, click here.
Plaza Vista Daily 5 – A framework for structuring literacy time so students develop lifelong habits of reading, writing and working independently. Students select from five authentic reading and writing choices, working independently toward personalized goals, while the teacher meets individual needs through whole-group and small-group instruction, as well as one-on-one conferring. To learn more, click here.
Woodbury Response to Instruction (RTI) – A reading program that supports students by using both formative and summative assessments, which are powerful and effective tools to assess students while they are learning, as well as at the end of an instructional unit. This comprehensive approach provides ongoing feedback that can be used to guide teacher instruction and improve student achievement. It also enables parents to track their child’s progress throughout the school year. Additionally, it supports parents to reinforce skills at home that their children have learned in the classroom.
"These schools shine as bright beacons for others, putting forth an exemplary effort to ensure that every student is ready for 21st century college and careers," Torlakson said. "California teachers are developing an education model for the nation, training the students of today to be the problem-solvers, inventors, and pioneers of tomorrow."
IUSD congratulates the teachers, staff, students and parents of these three outstanding schools, who exemplify the District’s mission to provide the highest quality educational experience we can envision.