Newport-Mesa Unified wins a national award

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District board received a major national award this month for its preschool program.

At a ceremony in Chicago earlier this month, the American School Board Journal recognized Newport-Mesa’s trustees with a Magna Award, which is given for outstanding and innovative school programs. The Magna Award is the first Newport-Mesa has won since the journal began giving them 11 years ago. Fourteen other groups received the honor as well.

The district was recognized for its Health, Opportunities, Preparation, Education Program ? better known as HOPE ? which helps children from all over Newport-Mesa become prepared for kindergarten. The program combines into the same classes regular-education students, English-learners and special-needs children.

“We’re having a joyous moment,” said school board member Serene Stokes, who accepted the award for Newport-Mesa. “We’re just very, very proud of the schools that raised their ? [Academic Performance Index] scores, and this award shows that we are trying to address the needs of all of our students.”

In 2001, Newport-Mesa spokeswoman Jane Garland conceived the preschool program to expand on the district’s preschool services, which at the time were centered on only two campuses. Lorie Hoggard, the district’s early childhood education director, has overseen the program for the last four years.

At present, Newport-Mesa has preschools on five campuses: College Park, Pomona, Whittier and Wilson elementary schools and Harper Preschool. Apart from classes, the preschool program provides referrals to pediatric services and leads literacy classes for non-English-speaking parents. The program receives grant funds from the state and from the Children and Families Commission of Orange County.

“We were very excited because we knew that the program was deserving of a national recognition, and it’s exciting to be able to share that with the community,” Hoggard said.