MONROVIA – A Monrovia Unified high school and elementary school were named this week to the Campaign for Business & Education Excellence (CBEE) 2016 Honor Roll, which highlights higher-performing schools that narrow achievement gaps between student populations.

Monrovia High and Mayflower Elementary were honored as Star Schools, a title that signifies academic improvement in schools with a significant population of socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

At both schools, Hispanic and socioeconomically disadvantaged students raised their performance on state standardized tests in English language arts (ELA); Mayflower Elementary English learners boosted ELA scores by 16 percent. Both Monrovia Unified schools also outperformed schools with similar demographics for English language arts and math for multiple student subgroups.

“We are very proud to have Monrovia High school and Mayflower Elementary school join the ranks of the CBEE Honor Roll program,” Monrovia Unified Board President Bryan Wong said. “In keeping with the Honor Roll’s parameters, we hope to have even more schools receive the same honor next year and to continue our District’s upward trend in academic achievement.”

The Honor Roll is created for CBEE by the Educational Results Partnership (ERP), which analyzes 12 measures taken from California Department of Education data, including performance on state math, English language arts and science standardized tests.

ERP looks at equity among students with differing ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. Additionally, high schools are judged on the percent of graduates who meet UC/CSU entrance course requirements, average SAT scores, percent of passing Advanced Placement exams, graduation rate and dropout rate.

This recognition by the CBEE is yet another accolade validating the thoughtful approach Monrovia’s educators have been taking in teaching our students,” Monrovia Unified Superintendent Dr. Katherine Thorossian said. “Monrovia Unified works tirelessly to provide students with a safe and nurturing learning environment. The success of our students is our success.”