Four local elementary schools have achieved top marks with California’s Department of Education. Washington Open in the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD), Cherry Chase Elementary in the Sunnyvale School District (SSD) and Murdock-Portal and Chester W. Nimitz elementary schools in the Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) were all named California Distinguished Schools this year.
“Recognition as a California Distinguished School is a high bar, and we are exceptionally proud of the Washington Open staff and community for their work to create dynamic and engaging educational experiences for their students,” said SCUSD Superintendent Dr. Gary Waddell. “Their work to reach and teach every child is exemplary, and we are proud that their efforts have been recognized by the state of California!”
“Being recognized as a California Distinguished School is a tremendous honor, and we are incredibly proud of our staff, students, and families for this achievement,” said Washington Open Principal Heidi Pilawski. “At our school, we are deeply committed to educating the whole child—not just academically, but also socially, emotionally, and physically. This is accomplished through the strong relationships we foster among students, families, and staff. We are thrilled that these efforts have been recognized by the state of California.”
Only 336 elementary schools statewide have received the prestigious award, which is handed out to elementary schools every other year.
Cherry Chase in the SSD received the award two years ago and is returning to the list. Principal Gloria Marchant was thrilled with the honor.
“As the principal of Cherry Chase Elementary, I am so proud of our fantastic staff and their collaborative efforts to support each student based on their unique strengths and needs,” said Marchant. “As a result, our students are achieving remarkable scores in reading and math! It’s wonderful to see how the school is successfully helping all students improve their learning, especially those who might need a little extra support.
“This recognition as a California Distinguished School truly reflects the unwavering dedication of our outstanding teachers and staff,” Marchant continued. “Their commitment to providing an exceptional education, creating a joyful community, and nurturing lifelong learners is inspiring. We are incredibly proud of their hard work ensuring every student feels safe, valued, and ready to thrive in a diverse world filled with exciting possibilities!”
In CUSD, Murdock-Portal also received recognition in 2023, while Nimitz Elementary is making its first appearance in more than four years.
“I am incredibly proud of our students and staff for receiving this honor. The continued dedication of our exceptional staff and supportive families continues to impact student learning in a multitude of positive ways, including student growth and academic achievement,” said CUSD Superintendent Stacy Yao. “CUSD prioritizes future-ready learning and social-emotional wellness of every student. Receiving this honor illustrates how prioritizing personal learning for each student creates opportunities for targeted learning gains. Strong instructional strategies, paired with an incredibly supportive parent community, is the reason why CUSD continues to excel.”
California Distinguished Schools are singled out either for closing the achievement gap or demonstrating exceptional student performance. Exceptional means the school’s students receive high marks in English Language Arts (ELA) and math.
To see the other schools that made this year’s list of California Distinguished Schools, visit the state’s website at www.cde.ca.gov and search “2025 Distinguished Schools.”
Congratulations to the teachers, staff and families at these schools. I’m especially impressed to see Nimitz recognized – I believe there is a large number of economically disadvantaged students there so that is quite the accomplishment.
The issue here is that “California Distinguished Schools are singled out either for closing the achievement gap or demonstrating exceptional student performance.” Designation for the former is far more meaningful than the later, particularly when you look at schools on this list.
Washington Open, for example, is the only mandatory parent participation in SCUSD, meaning it it draws a far more affluent, less diverse student body – including by pulling away top performing kids and engaged parents from their neighborhood SCUSD schools. It has a structural advantage, so high performance should be expected at a minimum, and serious questions must be asked whether their status comes at the expense of the rest of the SCUSD student population.
Cherry Chase and Nimitz are located in the wealthiest parts of Sunnyvale – even acknowledging Nimitz’s large share of low income kids – so it matters whether they are bridging the gap or have strong overall performance, and why. Nimitz and Murdock-Portal are also based in a school district that is overwhelmingly Asian and wealthy, which are the two drivers in California of top public school performance.
To be clear, this designation isn’t inherently a bad thing. But it adds to parent confusion in already unhealthy competitive environment. We need to dig deeper into why these schools made it and other great schools in these districts didn’t. What you are likely to find is that they perpetuate existing inequities within these districts – that slapping a gold star on these schools, without more context, merely exacerbates the problems in California primary education. That was 100% the case for the distinguished schools I attended as kid, and sadly remains the same 30+ years later.
I just want to acknowledge that Nimitz Elementary is actually one of 2 Title 1 schools in the Cupertino Union School District and while it might be in what you perceive as a “wealthiest part of Sunnyvale”, that does not actually fit the community that Nimitz serves. According to the latest available data through the California School Dashboard (https://www.caschooldashboard.org/reports/43694196046742/2024), Nimitz has a population that is 48.4% Socioeconomically Disadvantaged students (which means “Students who are eligible for free or reduced priced meals; or have parents/guardians who did not receive a high school diploma”.) as well as having 41.4% English learners (which means “Students who are learning to communicate effectively in English, typically requiring instruction in both the English Language and in their academic courses.”). They received the California Distinguished Schools award for closing the achievement gap this year. The other 3 schools listed in this article all have a population with 10.3% or lower Socioeconomically Disadvantaged students and 17.4% or lower English Learners. (Data from the CA Dashboard).
The last time that Nimitz was awarded this recognition was actually in 1993. In fact, in 2023, CUSD had 14 elementary schools that received the California Distinguished Schools award. Those 14 schools included all of the elementary schools EXCEPT the 2 Title 1 schools (Nimitz and DeVargas) and the parent participation school (McAuliffe) within CUSD. So for Nimitz to receive this award, it is a huge accomplishment for the school and the community.
Additionally, while CUSD as a district has a reputation of a good school district and many areas of the district are heavily Asian and/or wealthy, if you look at the actual funding level of the school district, it gets a much smaller amount per student than many of the surrounding districts. In fact, accoring to www.ed-data.org (educational data from the California Department of Education), in fiscal year 2023-24 CUSD received $18,259 per student. In the same year, the Sunnyvale school district received $25,934 per student and Santa Clara Unified received $30,115 per student. In fact, CUSD is actually below the statewide average funding, which was $20,559 per student. (https://www.ed-data.org/district/Santa-Clara/Cupertino-Union, https://www.ed-data.org/district/Santa-Clara/Sunnyvale and https://www.ed-data.org/district/Santa-Clara/Santa-Clara-Unified). So CUSD has a lot less money to work with and actually is doing a very good job of keeping up the high quality education given the existing inequity in funding between the districts.