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Organization: Newhall School District
Date: December 11, 2008
McGrath School Named California Title I Achieving School for Second Year in a Row
Santa Clarita, CA. — Dr. J. Michael McGrath Elementary School has been recognized by the State of California as a
Title 1 Academic Achievement Award winner. The school's principal received notice of this award
in a December 10th phone call from Jack O'Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires all states receiving Title I funds to
establish a program that recognizes Title I schools that exceed Adequate Yearly Progress for two
or more years or significantly close the achievement gap among numerically significant
subgroups. In addition to these federal law requirements, California's program has been designed
to identify and honor Title I schools that have also doubled their Academic Performance Index
(API) growth target for two consecutive years, and that meet a designated median API score in
both English-language arts and mathematics.
McGrath School's API grew by over 50 points over last year and is now at 833. The school made
Adequate Yearly Progress for over two years.
"We are extremely proud of this school," said Marc Winger, superintendent of the Newhall district.
"Our teachers, the principal, and students work hard to achieve and we welcome this recognition."
Title 1 is a federal compensatory education program for schools with high percentages of
students living in poverty. Seventy-five percent (75%) of McGrath School's student population
participates in the federal free and reduced lunch program.
McGrath was built six years ago to serve the east Newhall community. For five years it has been
making steady academic growth with a challenging student population. Fifty-five percent (55%)
of its students are English Language Learners.
This is the second statewide recognition for McGrath Elementary, which won the recognition last
year as well and it comes on the heels of a recent business community recognition as a "Honor
Roll" school.
"We are all part of a special experience that few realize in pubic education," said Larry Heath,
principal of McGrath. "My teachers are doing what people do for their own children. They do
whatever it takes to insure achievement for every student. The staff at McGrath always keeps all
students' needs and achievement front and center."
To celebrate the extraordinary student achievement scores of McGrath School on the 2008
California STAR Test, students in grades 3-6 will see the film The Tale of Despereaux, at the
Edwards Theater on December 19. This film is rated G. The McGrath School PTA is sponsoring
this trip and has provided a copy of the book The Tale of Despereaux to each student.
Title I Academic Achievement Award (AAA) schools will be recognized at the annual State Title I
Conference in March. As a result of their distinguished accomplishments, awardees are also
encouraged to serve as models for and provide support to other schools.
In 2007 State Superintendent Jack O'Connell described the awards. ""These outstanding
schools have shown that with hard work and tight focus, the challenges of poverty, language, and
socioeconomic background can be overcome," said O'Connell. "They have created high-quality,
active learning environments where the achievement gap is closing and where all students are
reaching the expectations of our state's rigorous standards. In these schools, teachers and
administrators work together to ensure that all students are progressing and moving toward
graduation that will lead to more productive, successful lives. I am very proud of these schools,
their accomplishments, and am pleased to honor them as Academic Achieving Schools."
More information about this recognition program can be found at www.cde.ca.gov.
