Berkeley Unified School District is proud to announce that Longfellow Arts and Technology Middle School and Willard Middle School have been officially recognized as 2026 California Distinguished Schools.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced the honors this week, naming only 408 middle and high schools across the state to this prestigious list. This award is California’s premier way of celebrating schools that demonstrate exemplary student outcomes and innovative ways of supporting their school communities.
What Makes a Distinguished School?
The 2026 program focused on three key areas of excellence:
- Exemplary High Achievers: Schools that maintain high academic standards for all students.
- Achievement Gap Closers: Schools that are successfully accelerating academic progress for historically underserved student groups.
- Beacons of Opportunity: A new 2026 category recognizing schools in Title I communities that achieve very high performance levels.
“This recognition, grounded in multiple measures of success, reflects the hard work and focus our students bring every day and our shared commitment to ensuring excellence for all while actively accelerating progress for those who have been historically underserved. #BerkeleyPROUD” – Enikia Ford Morthel
Celebrating the Achievement
The California Distinguished Schools Program uses data from the California School Dashboard, including academic achievement, graduation rates, and school climate, to identify the best-performing schools in the state.
Representatives from Longfellow and Willard will travel to the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim on April 24, 2026, for an official awards ceremony hosted by the California Department of Education.
Please join us in congratulating the students, teachers, and staff of Longfellow and Willard
