Dos Pueblos High School was named a California Distinguished School by the California Department of Education (CDE) on Tuesday, as part of the California School Recognition Program. This program was established to honor schools that demonstrate exemplary achievements.
“The fact that it goes to so few high schools in California still makes it prestigious and makes us feel very proud of the recognition,” DPHS Vice Principal Melissa Ewart said.
DPHS received this award through demonstration in two categories, one being Achievement Gap Closer, which means that DPHS has been “accelerating academic progress” to “historically underserved groups of students.”
Additionally, the award outlines another category, with DPHS being a “Beacons of Opportunity School” by helping disadvantaged students achieve high performance levels.
“It absolutely feels appropriate when I was reading the description [of the categories],” Ewart said. “We are really proud of the work of our counseling team, our teaching staff, our students — all of this, and the fact that we’ve all had to work together to make this award possible is pretty awesome.”
Ewart recognized that the DPHS community has been working hard to build a positive school environment, and attributes it to the amount of support available on campus, such as the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, as well as collaboration and “strong relationships” apparent in the school community.
“I feel when you walk onto DP, there is a culture that is so positive and is so tangible, like you can almost feel it. They can see students functioning the way we would hope they do,” Ewart said. “I really believe that when teachers and students and admin and staff feel confident and good about where they are working and going to school, then a lot of the academic challenge … is much more possible.”
Ewart said the process was a “team effort,” and that the award belongs to everyone on campus.
“It is a whole-school effort — from our custodial staff, who help make this place beautiful … all of it, to Principal Woodard,” Ewart said. “All of the elements in between have to be functioning in a forward motion for this to be working, and I really feel like it is right now.”
According to the CDE website, DPHS will hold the title of a Distinguished School for two years. In the meantime, Ewart said the award should be viewed as a continuity and “a validation” instead of a landmark.
“I don’t want to look at it as something we have accomplished,” Ewart said. “I want us to look at it as something we are still doing — something we are still working towards.”
Ewart added that the recognition confirms the pride in the school and that she is looking forward to seeing the DPHS community continue to grow further.
“Keep charging on,” Ewart said. “We are DP. Let’s go, people. We’ve got this.”
