This summer several San Jose Schools won some kind of award or honor for their continued achievements in education. Three schools in the San Jose Schools system have won awards for successfully competing in the California Student Media and Multimedia Festival. River Glenn Middle School and Almaden Elementary entered a multimedia technology and science project into the competition. This project entitled “Environmental Concerns in the Community” won the Multi-Grades & Schools Collaboration for Grades 4-8 category. In this project three San Jose Schools interacted with each other electronically to collaborate on a scientific investigation of the impact of precautionary measures designed to protect area wetlands. The students participating in the project came from a fourth grade class at Almaden Elementary, a fifth grade class at Zanker Elementary and a class from River Glenn. The two main coordinating teachers Mary Howland, Special Education Teacher of River Glen Middle School, and Beth Fensterwald, TSG of Almaden Elementary were also honored.

Two San Jose Elementary Schools received 2006 California Distinguished Schools honors this year. Willow Glen Elementary and Terrell Elementary were called by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell to announce their selection as 2006 California Distinguished Schools. This honor is given to schools that have shown themselves to improve over the school year. The California School Recognition Program is designed to aid and publize the success of the California Board of Education and the school district , like San Jose Schools. The California School Recognition Program honors California's best and inspiring schools with the California Distinguished School Award. Participation in the program is completely voluntary and decided by the school district. However, the award is very respect and many schools in the state strive to attain it. About 5% of the schools in California receive the California Distinguished School Award. Usually participation in the program includes about 40 school districts from across the state. San Jose Schools has participated for many years and plans to continue in the future.

California's Model Schools Project

Recently, two San Jose Schools have been selected to participate in the California Model Schools Project. The exhaustive application process narrowed the selection down to eight schools in Santa Clara County of which two are members of the San Jose Schools system. The two schools selected to participate in the California Model Schools Project were Gardner Academy and Willow Glen Middle School. These two schools will work closely with and be supported by other schools across Santa Clara County. They will also collaborate with the Successful Practices Network at the International Center for Leadership in Education. The main goals of the California Model Schools Project is to increase state testing scores, improve the quality of the schools instructional and leadership practices, and raise community involvement in the schools.

San Jose Schools' Schallenberger School Wins Excellence Awards

Schallenberger School has received the State of California's Excellence Award for their performance in last school year. This award recognizes those schools that have raised its overall academic achievement scores and have closed the achievement gap among its students. The State of California's Excellence Award was presented in Costa Mesa. Schallenberger School has also been given an award from the California Business for Education Excellence Foundation at a ceremony.