NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release  
February 11, 2010     
Contact: Binti Harvey
(626) 396-3606        
 

Hamilton Elementary and Willard Elementary Honored for Accelerating Achievement for All Students
 
Pasadena, CA – Two Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) school have won the 2009-10 Title I
Academic Achievement Awards. Hamilton Elementary and Willard Elementary are among a select
roster of California schools that will be honored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack
O'Connell at a ceremony in April.
 
Hamilton and Willard are honored for demonstrating that all students are making significant progress
toward proficiency on California's academic content standards. To qualify, the schools’
socioeconomically disadvantaged students must have doubled the achievement targets set for them for
two consecutive years.
 
“I congratulate Hamilton and Willard on this important award,” said Superintendent Edwin Diaz. “These
schools share a focus on academic rigor, a school culture that values and is responsive to individual
student learning styles, and strong teachers, administrators, staff and parents.  Working as a team, they
have accelerated achievement for all students.”  
 
This is the sixth consecutive year that Willard Elementary School has won the award. Hamilton
Elementary was also named a National Blue Ribbon School last year.
 
“These award recipients prove that with hard work and high expectations, students can overcome
challenges and achieve academic success,” said O’Connell. “By working together, administrators,
teachers, staff, students, and parents have raised student achievement and narrowed the achievement
gap. I congratulate these schools and everyone who worked hard to make them deserving of this
significant award.”
 
The Title I Academic Achievement Award is given only to schools receiving federal Title I funds as
authorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Title I is the single largest federal educational
program for K-12 public education. Title I funds assist schools in meeting the educational needs of
students living near or at the poverty level. Of the more than 9,000 schools in California, more than
6,000 of them participate in the Title I program.
 
The criteria to qualify for the Title I Academic Achievement Award have become more rigorous in recent
years. For more information about the Title I Academic Achievement Awards please visit the California
Department of Education web page at: www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/aa/index.asp.
 
The 2009-10 awardees will be honored at a reception and banquet at the Disneyland Hotel on April 21,
2010.