Seven Norwalk-La Mirada Unified schools were named to the Campaign for Business & Education Excellence (CBEE) 2016 Honor Roll for higher-performing schools that narrow achievement gaps between student populations, while one school was also named to the Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Honor Roll for excelling in math and science.

Arlie F. Hutchinson Middle, Los Coyotes Middle, Escalona Elementary, Foster Road Elementary, Gardenhill Elementary, La Pluma Elementary and Eastwood Elementary schools were honored as Star Schools, a category for higher-performing schools with substantial populations of socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

Gardenhill Elementary also received recognition as a STEM School for posting a 62 percent proficiency rate in math and an 82 percent achievement rate in science.

“Congratulations to all of our schools for being recognized as some of the most higher-performing schools across the state,” NLMUSD Board President Sean Reagan said. “These schools are an example of the rigorous academic environment our students are immersed in every day.”

Six out of seven Norwalk-La Mirada Unified Honor Roll Schools showed strong improvements in English language arts for Hispanic students, topping last year’s scores by 10 percent. Norwalk-La Mirada Unified’s Star and STEM schools also outperformed schools with similar demographics for English language arts and math in multiple student subgroups.

“We have high academic expectations and provide opportunities for our students to thrive throughout all of our schools,” NLMUSD Superintendent Dr. Hasmik Danielian said. “I am very proud of the hard work our administrators, teachers and staff dedicate toward supporting student success.”

The Honor Roll is created for the CBEE by the Educational Results Partnership (ERP), which analyzes measures taken from California Department of Education data, including performance on state math, English language arts and science standardized tests. ERP looks at the equity among students with differing ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic status.