Four Inland Empire schools have been saluted for being among the state’s best.
They’ve won the 2025 California Blue Ribbon School award.
Handed out by the state Department of Education, the honor recogizes 31 campuses that have shown academic success and also closed learning gaps among various groups of students, a department news release states.
On the last day of Red Ribbon Week, students sign a pledge to be drug-free at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. The school is the only one in Riverside County to be named a 2025 California Blue Ribbon School. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Dorothy McElhinney Middle School Principal Heather Just talks with students Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, on the last day of Red Ribbon Week at the French Valley campus. The school is the only one in Riverside County to be named a 2025 California Blue Ribbon School. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Kaylah Chavez, 13, and Cora Lowe, 13, are seen Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, the last day of Red Ribbon Week at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Dorothy McElhinney Middle School students signed a drug-free pledge during Red Ribbon Week at the French Valley campus Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Dorothy McElhinney Middle School Principal Heather Just is seen Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, the last day of Red Ribbon Week at the French Valley campus. The school is the only one in Riverside County to be named a 2025 California Blue Ribbon School. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Madison Kissel, 13, gets a reward after spinning the wheel during a lunch activity at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Science teacher Shauna Dauenhauer starts her Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, class with a floating ghost demonstration at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
London Whitfield, 13, and Madison Kissel, 13, watch their successful pumpkin launch during science class Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Sameer Danish, 14, is seen Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, on the last day of Red Ribbon Week at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Isabella Reznichek, 13, and Kassidy That, 12, pose Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, with the Dorothy McElhinney Middle School mascot Colt on the last day of Red Ribbon Week at the French Valley campus. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Ella Zhang, 13, works on her pumpkin launcher during science class Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley. The school is the only one in Riverside County to be named a 2025 California Blue Ribbon School. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
On the last day of Red Ribbon Week, students at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley sign a pledge to be drug-free Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Jordan Rivers, 13, prepares to launch a pumpkin during science class at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
London Whitfield, 13, and Madison Kissel, 13, watch their pumpkin launch during science class at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
William Roehm, 13, and Nathan Michaels, 13, work on their pumpkin launcher design Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, during science class at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley. The school is the only one in Riverside County to be named a 2025 California Blue Ribbon School. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Laura Burick, 13, works Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, on her design for a pumpkin launcher during science class at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley. The school is the only one in Riverside County to be named a 2025 California Blue Ribbon School. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Kaden Johnston, 14, works on her pumpkin launcher Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, during science class at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Scarlett Poznanski, 13, and Camille Rico, 13, work on their design for a pumpkin launcher during science class at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Savannah Burrup, 13, watches her successful pumpkin launch Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, during science class at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Dorothy McElhinney Middle School Principal Heather Just talks with students Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, the last day of Red Ribbon Week on the French Valley campus. The school is the only one in Riverside County to be named a 2025 California Blue Ribbon School. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
1 of 20
On the last day of Red Ribbon Week, students sign a pledge to be drug-free at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School in French Valley on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. The school is the only one in Riverside County to be named a 2025 California Blue Ribbon School. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)
Expand
“This award affirms the dedication and achievement of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said in the release.
The Inland region’s winners are:
Los Angeles County
Pantera Elementary School, in the Pomona Unified School District
Riverside County
Dorothy McElhinney Middle School, in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District
San Bernardino County
Day Creek Intermediate School, in the Etiwanda School District
Gus Franklin Jr. Elementary School, in the Adelanto Elementary School District
The schools had been nominated for the National Blue Ribbon School award, but in summer the U.S. Department of Education ended the program. California education officials then decided to honor campuses that were up for the now-defunct federal award with a new, one-time only, honor, the release states.
In Riverside County, McElhinney Middle School was the only campus chosen.
At McElhinney, located outside Murrieta in the French Valley area, students finished up last week celebrating the anti-drug Red Ribbon Week and did science projects involving the launching of miniature pumpkins with student-crafted catapults.
“The Blue Ribbon award affirms what we see daily in our schools,” Murrieta Superintendent Ward Andrus said in a district news release. “They are places where students are academically challenged, supported and inspired to achieve their absolute best.”
The California Blue Ribbon Schools will be recognized in spring at the California School Recognition Program celebration.
