Sacramento, CA – The Sacramento City Unified School District received word this week that Phoebe A. Hearst Elementary School has been recognized as a 2023 California Distinguished School by the California Department of Education. This year, the distinction was awarded to only 356 elementary schools out of the 5,824 statewide.

The California Distinguished Schools program recognizes schools for their excellent work in one of two categories: closing the achievement gap and achieving exceptional student performance. The California Department of Education uses multiple measures to identify distinguished schools based on their performance on state indicators, including assessment results, absenteeism, suspension rates and socioeconomic data.

“This is a great achievement. It takes a fully invested school community to achieve something like this,” said Doyal Martin, Principal, Phoebe Hearst Elementary School. “The work never ends though. It is an honor to be part of this Phoebe Hearst Dragons community!”

“The California Distinguished Schools Award celebrates schools that are doing exceptional work to support student success on a range of measures,” said Chinua Rhodes, Board of Education President, Sacramento City Unified School District. “Congratulations to the staff, students, and families who help make Phoebe Hearst Elementary School worthy of this distinction”.

“The recognition of Area 2’s very own Phoebe Hearst Elementary School as a 2023 California Distinguished School is well deserved,” said Jasjit Singh, 2nd Vice President & Area 2 Board of Education Member, Sacramento City Unified School District. “We are proud of the entire Phoebe Hearst school community for working together to support great teaching and learning, and for meeting the needs of our students and their families.”

Phoebe Hearst Elementary is a K-6 school located in East Sacramento and offers families a progressive, structured, and highly rigorous education. With an extremely positive academic climate, fostered by great parent participation and a number of enrichment opportunities in and out of the classroom, students have the opportunity to develop academically, socially, and culturally.  Each class at Phoebe Hearst operates under the BASIC Model, an educational program that emphasizes the development of strong skills in Language Arts and Mathematics, excellent study habits, exemplary citizenship and attendance. 

Beginning in first grade, a number of students are also identified through a multi-step process for the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Program. Because Phoebe Hearst is considered a GATE Center, students are awarded spots in a designated GATE class through a district lottery. In this class (grades 2-6), students are offered highly challenging learning opportunities that follow the Common Core State Standards in depth, breadth, and pace of instruction designed to meet the needs of advanced learners, with an emphasis on critical and creative thinking, problem solving, and logical reasoning.

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