(April 8, 2005) -- After a whole day packed with classroom visitations, meetings with community members and lunch breaks at the cybrary, the six member committee from the state of California reconvened with Clark staff at the cybrary for the final debriefing. There, they notified the staff that they would recommend Clark Magnet High School to be a California Distinguished School.

The official announcement will be made April 19 when Jack O'Connell, the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, makes the announcement. According to librarian Susan Newcomer, O’Connell is very familiar with Clark’s reputation. He nominated Clark to be recognized as a top 30 schools in 2004.

A few months prior to the visitation, Clark applied to the State Department of Education for two awards: California Distinguished School and the Award for Excellence in Career and Technological Education. Assistant Principal Joan Shoff said that it would be unprecedented for a high school to be awarded both.

According to Newcomer, there are three steps to being given this distinction: an application process where two separate applications, both at least 30 pages, double-spaced, were written; a preliminary selection process; and finally, a visit from a committee which verifies the statements made in the application.

The panel’s visitation consisted of classroom visits with pre-selected student tour guides. Senior Rosa Khachatryan was one of the tour guides. “It was a really good chance for them to get to know the school. It was amazing that we got to go through the amount of classes we did in a short amount of time,” she said.

During lunch, the six-member panel met with 25 staff recommended students at the cybrary to discuss their thoughts on what Clark really is like. The group of students was asked a group question, but each one answered with their own individual experience.

According to Mary Gomes, a consultant for the awards committee, reading Clark’s application was their first indication of what the school was like. The student discussion cemented their first thoughts of the school. She also said that their “sincerity was heartfelt.”

At the final debriefing, it was time for members of the panel to tell the staff their thoughts on the school. Demita Myers Miller, a principal for an elementary school in LAUSD, said that Clark is a “model of a wonderful school.”

Final comments were made by Gomes. She said that what distinguished Clark was the ability to build a community where everyone got along. It’s a well-run school with dynamic leadership and that each student showed personal responsibility for their actions and intentions. And with that, she announced that the panel decided to recommend Clark as a 2005 Distinguished High School.

According to Newcomer, this recommendation makes it “highly likely at this point” that Clark will secure it’s distinction as a California Distinguished School. Newcomer said that this honor will add prestige to student diplomas and add emphasis to the fact that Clark is highly recognized by other educators.