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NEW HORIZON
PASADENA NAMED BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL
November 12, 2005
Contact: Amira Al-Sarraf
626-795-5186 ext. 109
aalsarraf@newhorizonschool.org
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On Friday, November 11, New Horizon School
Pasadena was honored as a National Blue Ribbon School in a special
ceremony conducted by the
United States Department of Education in
Washington, D.C. New Horizon Pasadena was among 295 other private and
public schools recognized in this annual ceremony to celebrate
excellence in schools around the country.
“To our knowledge, we are the first
Islamic school to receive this award, and it is our hope that other
Islamic schools will also receive such recognition for their
accomplishments in the field of education,” said Amira Al-Sarraf,
Interim School Head.
Established in 1984, New Horizon School
has earned this award through its years of dedication to excellence in
its academic program. The Blue Ribbon award requires that the students’
scores in reading and math are in the top 10% in the nation and that the
school pass through an evaluation of its overall academic program. New
Horizon Pasadena met this criteria and is now distinguished as a Blue
Ribbon School. |
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The school sent a delegation to
Washington, D.C. which included Amira Al-Sarraf, Interim School Head,
Necva Ozgur, former School Head, and Carol Dean, second grade teacher.
The delegation also met with Congressman Adam Schiff of the 29th
District at the Capitol during their visit to D.C.
Schiff offered
his commendation to New Horizon Pasadena in the following statement:
“Our community is honored that the New Horizon School has received the
Blue Ribbon award, the very highest the Department of Education has to
offer for the achievement of academic excellence. The small classrooms
and personalized instruction at New Horizon has clearly paid great
dividends, as its students have vaulted to the top ten percent in the
nation. I remember attending the ground breaking just a few years ago
-- which makes [it] all the more remarkable that any school could attain
such high academic standing in such a short amount of time. Plainly,
this is a tribute to the school's dedicated faculty and staff. New
Horizon is not only academically strong, but very active in the Pasadena
community, participating in tutoring projects and food drives for the
homeless. It is also active in interfaith efforts at reconciliation,
and has received the Model of Unity Award by the Pasadena Human Rights
Commission. The whole community is proud of New Horizon's achievement,
and wishes the school success in the future.”
See New
Horizon Pasadena Fact Sheet.
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