Thurston Middle School stands out in the crowd

Mike Swanson

Thurston Middle School received an honor bestowed upon only 6% of

middle and high schools in the state this year when named a

California Distinguished School last week.

As head of one of 12 schools in Orange County honored through the

California School Recognition Program, second-year Principal Chris

Duddy said the distinction rewarded all involved in Thurston’s

persistent effort to run a well-rounded campus.

“We try to educate the whole person here,” Duddy said. “The music,

the drama, the sports programs -- they all accent the academics.

Every program runs hand-in-hand, and it’s a great honor to be

recognized.”

Out of 2,228 middle and high schools in the state, fewer than 400

were eligible to apply for the honor based upon their Academic

Performance Index results. Duddy said that after qualifying, the

14-page application for selection wasn’t easy to complete, but

certainly proved worth the effort in the end.

“They didn’t pick everyone, so we had to do something right,”

Duddy said.

A group of 10 representatives from Thurston and the Laguna Beach

Unified School District, including Duddy and Supt. Theresa Daem, will

take part in an acceptance ceremony at Disneyland on May 16. The

ceremony will involve all 132 distinguished California middle and

high schools and is scheduled to run from 4:30 to 9 p.m.

Elementary schools are honored separately from middle and high

schools, in alternating years.

Thurston’s selection includes qualification for the National Blue

Ribbon Schools award to be issued next year.

Duddy said the challenge now is to sustain Thurston’s

distinguished status, regardless of whether the district’s interim

budget or the more favorable equitable-case budget is approved by

Gov. Gray Davis before next school year.

“All we can do is try the best we can to deal with whatever we’re

budgeted,” he said. “In the meantime, we’re happy with what we have

going here.”