Schools chief pitches

Laguna Beach High School Principal Don Austin joined fellow state Distinguished School administrators at the Aug. 24 Los Angeles Angels game at Angel Stadium to watch State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell throw out the first pitch of the game.

“It was nice to be able to look around and get a sense that there aren’t many Distinguished Schools,” Austin said.

“It was fun to feel the excitement and pride of being in that group.”

O’Connell joined California State Lottery Director Joan Borucki in honoring the Orange County middle and high schools that were selected this year at a pre-game ceremony at home plate.

The lottery contributes at least 34 cents of every dollar spent on lottery products to public education “” more than $19 billion to date since its inception in 1985 “” and returns more than 50% of sales to players in the form of prizes.

The selected schools represented the top 7% of the state’s nearly 2,400 middle and high schools.

O’Connell said he worked so hard on his pitch earlier in the day that his arm was sore, but he still threw a pitch that elicited applause from the audience.