Valley schools lead LAUSD

Even as the Los Angeles Unified School District grapples with wide-ranging problems, including lagging student test scores, more than a dozen San Fernando Valley schools were honored Wednesday by the state for exemplary academic performance.Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

The recognition is a coup for the Valley, where 16 of the newly honored schools, or two-thirds of all California Distinguished Elementary Schools named in the LAUSD this year, are located - and also where the bulk of such schools in the area are perennially found, district officials believe.

"We've been working really hard in the Valley for a very long time to bring scores up and improve schools. It didn't just happen yesterday," said school board member Julie Korenstein, who has represented the Valley for 21 years.