DeLaveaga Elementary Named 2025 California Distinguished School!

Santa Cruz City Schools is proud to share that DeLaveaga Elementary has been named a California Distinguished School by the California Department of Education! DeLaveaga is being recognized for exceptional student performance and achievement.

Since 1985, the California Distinguished School program has been celebrating schools that achieve among the highest levels of English Language Arts and Math across all student groups. DeLaveaga not only met this criteria but has been recognized for strong indicators of student engagement and positive school climate.

"Our entire staff is grateful and pleased that DeLaveaga is recognized for its achievements in instruction and narrowing the achievement gap for students,” said DeLaveaga Principal Thien Hua. “I am humbled every day by the work of our educators and staff, and am thrilled that all of our collective work is making a difference in kids' lives. We work on these goals together and it is an honor to be celebrated for meeting them and lifting up our students."

DeLaveaga Elementary opened in 1969 and serves 485 students. In addition to a traditional TK-5 program, DeLaveaga is also home to the “Dos Alas” bilingual dual immersion program. The Dos Alas program provides a bilingual TK-5 education to students, presenting lessons in both English and Spanish and enjoying an extremely high success rate of students retaining Bilingualism and receiving the State Seal of Biliteracy in High School.

“I am so happy that the incredible work of our school is being recognized and celebrated,” said Santa Cruz City Schools Superintendent Kris Munro. “We are so glad to be narrowing the achievement gap and bringing every student up to their highest potential. These are goals we set as a district, and I am incredibly proud of the Educators at DeLaveaga for their dedicated work and for achieving this recognition.”