"It's kind of a bummer, isn't it?" Disney principal Bobbie Kavanaugh said.
"But we had our suspicions when we first got the award. Despite not getting it, I know we are still doing great things for kids and we'll just have to try harder next time."
To qualify for the award, schools must meet their Adequate Yearly Progress requirements, the proficiency standards required by the federal government, for at least two consecutive years; and they must double their Academic Performance Index growth target over two consecutive years, or have an API above 800.
Schools receive an API score between 200 and 1,000 each year, with a state target of 800.
Deputy Supt. Joel Shapiro expressed frustration Friday with the release of the updated, Disney-less list of award winners and said the Department of Education should have taken greater pains to ensure the release of accurate information.
Disney scored 797 on its 2006 Academic Performance Index, down from 804 in 2005, and three points shy of Title I High Achieving School recognition, according to California Department of Education's Academic Performance Index base report.
Kavanaugh was unsure of the validity of the school's inclusion in the list of award winnings and made attempts to verify the school's status with the Department of Education, Shapiro said.
Almost sure of the school's ineligibility, Kavanaugh said she did not even do the paperwork to apply for the award.
"What's frustrating here is that when Disney was first put on the list, Kavanaugh made several attempts to clarify with the Department of Education that the award was accurate," he said.
"Therefore we assumed it was accurate and weren't notified until yesterday that they had made an error."
Although the information about the 15 school's non-qualifying status was on record with the department, it never got to the communications office, said Tina Jung, information officer for the Department of Education.
"We deeply apologize for this inconvenience, but the information update just didn't get to the communications office," Jung said. "It's an unfortunate situation so I can understand where there might be some confusion, but the most recent list is correct."
Even though Disney fell slightly short of receiving the award, it will not affect its receipt of Title I grants from the state, Kavanaugh said.
It is, however, still a bit of let-down.
The clarification of this mishap leaves the Burbank district without a school holding the Title I Academic Achievement Award this year.
