And now, the good news

Often, it is the negative or scandalous stories that stand out in

our minds. It is no different when it comes to stories about our

schools.

We often remember the stories of lawsuits against school districts

or horror stories of teachers being arrested for child molestation

and sexual assault -- like 28-year-old Jason Abhyankar, the former

Huntington Beach teacher sentenced two weeks ago to 24 years in

prison for child molestation. Or like Todd Jerome Haluch, the

substitute teacher from Huntington Beach, who was arrested Monday for

the second time on multiple counts of sexual assault against young

girls.

So in a time when the news seems all bad, it is important to stop

and reflect on the good.

Three Huntington Beach schools have been named National Blue

Ribbon schools. Delegates from Marine View Middle School, Isaac

Sowers Middle School and Pegasus School travel to Washington, D.C.

this week to accept the honor on behalf of the school, its students,

teachers and administrators, all of whom worked hard to achieve this

honor.

It is the highest distinction a school can receive from the

federal government. An honor that has recognized top schools

throughout the country since 1982, when the program was created by

the secretary of education. It is the culmination of hard work --

both in the classroom and in the time-consuming application process.

And each time our schools win, it is a welcome reminder that our

children are getting the education they both need and deserve. But it

should also stand as a challenge to keep improving our campuses.

As we look at the improvements taking place on campuses thanks to

a successful $30-million school bond measure, it is evident that the

community is willing and able to rise to that challenge.

And it is answered each day when a volunteer spends time with a

young student, when a teacher stays late grading papers or when a

coach works extra hard to help the team play better.

It is those efforts that guarantee local schools will continue to

bring home awards year after year.