Two Newhall schools, Peachland Elementary and Wiley Canyon Elementary, have been named as two of the 2020 Top Los Angeles County Public Schools in math.
The award — which runs in partnership between Innovate Public Schools and the University of Southern California — is distributed to those schools within L.A. County that are closing the opportunity gap for low-income black and Latino students.
Of the schools put on the list for mathematics, Peachland was ranked 30 out of 124 with 55% of their low-income Latino students scoring proficient on their 2019 CAASP state testing, and Wiley Canyon ranked 102 out of 124 with 45% of their low-income Latino students scoring proficient.
“We know that there are gaps at times with students and historically there certain student groups that are lagging behind,” said Dee Jamison, assistant superintendent of instructional services for the district. “So the students are really thriving, they’re having high outcomes when compared to similar groups of students in another educational setting.”
This is the second year in a row that both Wiley Canyon and Peachland have earned this distinction, Jamison said.
“Being a school district where we have our Blue Ribbon schools is wonderful,” said Jamison. “It really shows that for some of our students, as (Superintendent Jeff Pelzel) will say, they just need a little extra support, and that we are making that significant difference for them.”
Only 19% of the 1,346 schools in L.A. County that serve a significant amount of low-income students were listed, according to the Top L.A. County Public Schools report.
