In a ceremony that took place from 3 to 4 p.m. today, May 9, the California Department of Education awarded the Civic Learning Award to Los Altos High School for its excellent participation in local and global civic matters.
The school received special mentions commending three special projects: the muckraking project for United States History, Haiti Solidarity’s various installations in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, and the first annual History Week, hosted by the History Department.
History Department Coordinator Dee Dee Pearce is very excited about the awards the school has received.
“It is nice to be recognized for all of the hard work that is done by both the staff and students, [and] we ourselves are motivated by acknowledging the importance of taking the responsibility to take action,” Pearce said. “We highlighted three programs, The Muckraking Project, History Week, and Haiti Solidarity. We are fortunate to have many more significant programs on campus that engage students as community participants. We will have a panel talking about some of these other activities on campus.”
Pearce and history teacher Michael Messner coordinated the awards ceremony. They made it a priority to have the school recognized for its special attention to the global politics and social issues.
“The challenge of teaching history often is that students don’t see the relevant connections between the past history and the current state of the nation and the world’s contemporary issues,” Pearce said. “Our task includes educating and preparing students to be engaged in their communities and their country.”
This is the first year that the award has been implemented, and the school is among 22 other California schools that are being honored.
At the awards ceremony today, a California state judge gave the award to the school. A student panel talked about the various achievements of clubs that fell under the umbrella of civic involvement and social justice. Junior Cole Limbach and senior Christina Luk talked about History Week and how they set it up.
