EARNS GOLD MEDAL STATUS

Press Release: LOS ANGELES, December 19 - Oscar de la Hoya isn't the only one with a Gold Medal now, as it was with great pride that the "Golden Boy" announced today that the Oscar de la Hoya Animo Charter High School in Los Angeles was awarded a Gold Medal and a ranking of number 53 in the country among public schools by U.S. News and World Report's prestigious annual survey of the "100 Best High Schools in the United States".

"This is an exciting day for me and one on which I applaud all the students, teachers and staff of Oscar de la Hoya Animo Charter High School," said De La Hoya.  "When we started the school in 2003, I wanted to give Los Angeles students a place where they had every opportunity to succeed and they've taken those opportunities and done great things for themselves, the school and the community.  I'm very proud to be associated with this school."

U.S. News and World Report looks at over 21,000 public high schools in 48 states to determine its list of 100 Gold Medal schools.

The school also enjoyed its biggest jump ever in California's Academic Performance Index, moving from 667 to 724.  The API is a single number, ranging from a low of 200 to a high of 1000, which reflects a school's performance level, based on the results of statewide testing.  Its purpose is to measure the academic performance and growth of schools.