Alvarado Elementary Receives Prestigious National Award

Teamwork, commitment helped school earn national Distinguished School designation.

Alvarado Elementary School is one of just 100 schools across the country to receive a National Elementary and Secondary Education Act Distinguished School designation.

The Distinguished Schools program recognizes federally funded schools for outstanding academic achievement. The program highlights qualifying schools that have successfully used their ESEA funds to improve the education of all students, including those who are economically disadvantaged.

Alvarado, located at 1100 Solar Road NW, was nominated by the state Public Education Department for exceptional student performance and academic growth in reading and math.

Alvarado Principal Desiree Springer noted the school’s improvements in math, reading and school culture scores came with much hard work by students, staff and community. In Reading/Literacy in English, she said, Alvarado went from 40.7% proficient to 47% proficient and in Spanish from 10.4% proficient to 24.1% proficient.  In math, proficiency scores improved from 18.1% to 52.9% proficient.

“At Alvarado we believe and understand that students’ education and life outcomes are dependent upon their access to safe and welcoming learning environments and rich learning experiences in and out of school,” said Springer. “We have created an inclusive environment and work hard to make sure students want to come to school every single day.  Promoting the importance of being in school every day, except when they are sick, helps us to make sure our students are receiving the daily curriculum they need to succeed. By making school a fun and memorable place to be, our students want to come to school on a daily basis.”

Tularosa Elementary School in southern New Mexico was the only other school in the state to receive the award.

The ESEA program has been in place since 1996 and features successes in one of three categories. They are:

• Exceptional student performance and academic growth for two consecutive years.
• Closing the achievement gap between student groups.
• Excellence in serving special populations of students. 

District and school representatives have been invited to participate in the National ESEA Conference in February, where they will be honored as award recipients. The conference is in Austin, Texas.

“‘Once an All-Star, always an All-Star’ is our motto,” Springer said of Alvarado. “Frequently, previous staff and students return to support our school needs in any way they can, including school functions and events. This environment has led to many parents transferring their children to our school because of the unique experience and opportunities that Alvarado Elementary school has to offer their family. We are a team at Alvarado and every single person plays a vital role that contributes to our success. We are All-Star proud!”