AGOURA HILLS : Grade Schools Earn Award for Excellence

Parental and community involvement was the formula for success for two elementary schools awarded the National Blue Ribbon for excellence, administrators said Monday.

Willow Elementary School in Agoura Hills and Rio Vista Elementary School in Canyon Country--the only schools in Los Angeles County to be chosen--are scheduled to be recognized by President Clinton at a May 14 ceremony in the nation’s capital.

Rio Vista Principal Catherine Laws said she believes that her school was among the 19 in California and 227 nationwide chosen for the award because of its excellent teaching staff and the activist attitude taken by parents and community members.

“We’ve got more volunteers than we know what to do with,” Laws said.

Willow Principal Renee Lamkay cited her school’s value in the community as a key to its success. She said that reading, art appreciation and computer programs run by parents and senior citizens, as well as fund-raisers, have helped buoy the school as the Las Virgenes Unified School District navigates rough fiscal waters.

“With all these opportunities for people to come in, everybody feels they have a part in the children’s education,” Lamkay said, who received the same award in 1986 as principal of White Oak Elementary in Westlake Village.

“When people do come, we want them to feel welcome, so they’ll come back,” she said. “There’s a special warmth at Willow.”

Both principals and several teachers and administrators plan to leave for Washington, D.C., on May 12. They will be honored at a ceremony and awarded special flags for their schools.