Flying the flag of distinction

Danette Goulet

COSTA MESA -- The light rain could not dampen the spirits of the crowd

that exploded into cheers Monday morning when the California

Distinguished School flag was raised for the first time at Kaiser

Elementary School.

Hundreds of students, teachers, parents and community members gathered by

the campus flagpole as Boy Scouts raised the new flag to wave proudly

below that of the country and the state.

Kaiser was one of four elementary schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District to earn the title of California Distinguished School this

year.

So, beside delegates from Harbor View, Killybrooke and Victoria

elementary schools, Kaiser principal Daryle Palmer accepted the flag, a

plaque and commendations from the state Department of Education at a

ceremony Friday night at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

Being named a Distinguished School is the highest award a school can

receive on the state level, and it is the prerequisite for applying to

become a National Blue Ribbon school.

“Education is hard work and to have that hard work recognized is

wonderful,” Palmer said.

But the award is not just for administrators and teachers -- just ask the

students and the parents.

“The kids and parents really deserve this award,” said Dawn Siemonsma,

who has 10-year-old twins at Kaiser. “They worked very hard to make this

school a Distinguished School.”

Third-grade student Mitchell Bancroft couldn’t agree more. “It’s sort of

nice to be a Distinguished School because we worked hard to do some

things,” he said.

Anyone wondering just what Kaiser has done to deserve this prestigious

award could just ask 8-year-old Elizabeth Cramer.

“It’s really fun to learn here because the teachers make it fun,” she

said. “We all get along and help each other -- and with all these

students, that’s something. And the teachers are really kind and they

help you with a lot of things.”

Despite the grueling application process, Palmer said that Kaiser will

pursue the nation’s top honor -- the Blue Ribbon award.

“Now the teachers want to go for it,” she said. “You have one-on-one

successes with students all the time, but to have someone stand up on a

national level...”