Carmel Valley Elementary School Named One Of The Best In The Nation

It's no secret that Carmel Valley is a city popular among young families thanks to its top-notch educational system. Now, parents in this northern San Diego community have another accolade do be proud of. Earlier this week, Carmel Valley's Ocean Air Elementary was named as a National Blue Ribbon School. The school, which had an enrollment of nearly 800 students at the beginning of last year, has been a model of quality education since it was first opened for the 2007-2008 school year.

What Is A National Blue Ribbon School?

Each year, the U.S. Department of Education selects the best schools around the nation which have a large proportion of students which perform at high levels, or have made significant improvements over the past year. This year, 286 public and private schools were chosen from all around the country. Out of this list, 15 schools are in California – 13 public and 2 private.

Before selecting Ocean Air Elementary School for their list, the U.S. Department of Education focused their search for schools with a number of desirable traits such as:

• Leaders who effectively communicate their vision to the schools employees and students, and also stay involved in the day-to-day leaning
• The school embracing a sense of commitment and collegiality
• Numerous types of teaching are incorporated into the lessons in order to provide the best opportunities for any type of learner
• A strong relationship between the school's faculty and the parents of their students

After surveying all of their options, the U.S. Department of Education determined that Ocean Air Elementary School in Carmel Valley was among the top 286 schools to fit their criteria this year. This is a pretty impressive designation when you look at how many schools there actually are around the country – there were more than 130,000 public and private schools in the United States in 2010, according to the Institute of Education Sciences.

To Many Parents, The Award Isn't A Surprise

Although there is no doubt that Ocean Air Elementary receiving the designation of being a National Blue Ribbon School is a big deal, many residents with children in the Carmel Valley area are not surprised. In fact, a number of people who move to the area each year do so because of the high-quality reputation of the city's schools.

Ocean Air Elementary is not even the first school in the city to receive a major award this year. Back in April, Carmel Valley Middle school was among eight schools in San Diego named by the California Department of Education as California Distinguished Schools. This program recognizes schools which have high levels of results among their entire student population.

For many people living in San Diego, Ocean Air Elementary being named as a National Blue Ribbon School just reinforces the notion that Carmel Valley has some of the best schools in southern California. With the Carmel Valley real estate market still growing, however, right now may be one of the few opportunities remaining for young professionals and families to secure a home in the popular community for prices still lower than last decade's peaks.