Chief Justice Resumes Visits to Schools to Honor Fresno's Maple Creek Elementary School

5 Things to Know:

• California Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero presented the Civic Learning Award of Excellence to Maple Creek Elementary School
• Only one other school in Fresno has been presented the Award of Excellence (Tarpey Elementary in 2022).
• Maple Creek Elementary School is in the Clovis Unified School District, the most awarded school district in Fresno County with 52 awards.
• For 2023, six Fresno County schools were selected to receive awards (view full list).
• The visit comes at the end of Constitution Month, a commemoration sponsored by the Chief Justice's Power of Democracy Civic Learning Initiative.

California Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero ended Constitution Month with a visit to Fresno County to present the Civic Learning Award of Excellence to Maple Creek Elementary School, restoring a tradition put on hold during the pandemic. During her visit, students, teachers, and district representatives presented the chief justice with details of their ongoing civic learning efforts. 

“Civics is foundational to educating the next generation of our leaders and strengthening our local communities," said Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero. “I'm looking forward to honoring the teachers and students of Maple Creek Elementary and to learning even more about their engagement programs.”

Since the awards inception in 2013, thirty-three elementary, middle, and high school awardees have received the awards program’s highest honor, the Award of Excellence. Tarpey Elementary was the first school in Fresno County to receive the honor back in 2022.

The awards program is co-sponsored by the Chief Justice and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. Applications for the 2024 awards will be posted here on March 1, 2024.