Seven Pasadena ISD schools were named to the National Center for Educational Accountability’s “Best Public Schools” list in the December issue of Texas Monthly magazine.

De Zavala Fifth Grade Center, L.F. Smith Elementary School, Matthys Elementary School, Pearl Hall Elementary School, along with Bondy, South Houston and Southmore intermediate schools were recognized as “high performing schools” by the NCEA, which is a research arm of the University of Texas. The Pasadena campuses honored were among 574 schools in the state that made the list.

“This honor speaks volume about the hard work of our teachers, principals and students,” Pasadena ISD Superintendent Kirk Lewis said. “I am very proud of the great things happening on these campuses and all of our schools in Pasadena ISD.”

In determining which schools comprised the Texas Monthly list, the NCEA analyzed how students fared in the subject areas of reading, writing, math, science and social studies and also took into account the demographic makeup of each student body.

The Texas Monthly honors are one of many achievements in Pasadena schools this year. In August, 29 schools received recognized ratings and one campus was named exemplary by the Texas Education Agency. The state also gave Gold Performance Acknowledgement awards to 30 schools for their performance in math and 25 campuses for their gains in reading. Twenty-three campuses were distinguished for writing scores and 18 campuses were acknowledged for gains in attendance.

In addition, 52 students were recognized by the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) with various academic awards during the 2006-2007 school year.

“Student achievement is always our main focus and our teachers, principals and support staff live and breathe the common mission and vision we share,” Lewis said. “We are dedicated to teaching our students the lessons they need to succeed in today’s world and also preparing them for the world of tomorrow.”