PALMDALE – The California Association of Bilingual Education (“CABE”) announced that Los Amigos Elementary School, Palmdale School District’s Dual Immersion School of Choice, has been given the 2012 Seal of Excellence Award.
The Seal of Excellence was inaugurated in 1996 to honor exemplary bilingual education programs throughout the state.
“We are very humbled and honored by this special recognition,” said Los Amigos Principal Maria Elena Esquer. “It is a true testament to the many years of relentless dedication of students, staff, and parents to the mission of biliteracy and bilingualism.”
Los Amigos was founded in 1997 and is a K-8 dual immersion program where students spend 50% of their instruction in English and 50% of their instructional time in Spanish.
This was not the first time Los Amigos has received state-wide recognition.
The school has two of CABE’s former Teachers of the Year, as well.
Superintendent, Roger Gallizzi, who founded the school, remarked, “I am proud of the hard work of the professional learning community at Los Amigos. It is a pleasure to be acknowledged at a state-wide level for the quality of program we offer our community.”
The dual immersion program at Los Amigos is so popular the District had to open a second school, Dos Caminos, earlier this year.
“We are extremely proud of Los Amigos and really feel that this was an award long overdue. We are looking forward to bigger things,” said Carol Stanford, Board President.
The award will be presented at the Seal of Excellence Banquet during CABE’s 2012 Conference in Sacramento on Friday, March 9, 2012.
(Information via press release from the Palmdale School District.)
Tara Colburn says
It seems like schools are getting all kinds of “awards,” but the state is still robbing them blind with budget cuts. What’s up with that?