West Bourbon Elementary nationally recognized
On Tuesday, U. S. Secretary of the Department of Education (DOE) Arne Duncan designated approximately 332 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2014. Uniontown's West Bourbon Elementary School is one of them.
"They recognize two categories," WBE Principal Tracy Smith said. "One for academic excellence and one for closing the achievement gap. We are receiving it for academic excellence."
Exemplary High Performing Schools, the category that WBE is recognized for, are among their respective state's highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests. All the recognized schools have demonstrated that students can achieve to high levels, according to a press release from the DOE.
Announcement via DOE's education channel
The announcement was broadcast live at 12:30 p.m. on ED's USTREAM channelhttp://www.ustream.tv/channel/education-department.
Smith, some staff and teachers along with fourth, fifth and sixth-graders, waited in the school's cafeteria to hear their school honored Tuesday, but technical difficulties prevented the group from watching the news. It seems there were so many watching and commenting nationwide that they could not log on the announcement by Duncan.
The program
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, a non-profit 501(3) organization, recognizes grades one through 12 based on overall academic excellence or their progress. Each year the DOE seeks out and recognizes great American schools demonstrating that all students can achieve to high levels, according to the website.
"The Kansas State Department of Education nominated WBE," Smith said. "Five other Kansas schools were nominated."
Reasons for award
"Kudos to teachers, support staff, the kids, the community. It's a great team effort," Smith said.
"WBE is able to provide cutting edge technology to its students," according to the Blue Ribbon website summary of WBE, prepared by Smith and the Building Leaders Team. "iPad mini's, laptop computers, Apple smart television classroom projection...(and) aligned curriculum to state and national expectations. With a highly qualified and dedicated staff, WBE has the luxury of knowing each child and their families. A small 1-16 teacher-to-student ratio enhances whole and small group learning along with individualized instruction....each child, each day is taught by someone that truly cares about the child. This key factor has been a very important piece in WBE's success."
Other Kansas winning schools
The other Kansas schools honored were Marais des Cygnes Valley Elementary School, Quenemo; Oatville Elementary School, Haysville; Ogden Elementary School, Ogden; St. Patrick Catholic School, Kingman; and Valley Falls Elementary School, Valley Falls.
More than 7,500 of schools across the country have been presented with this award in the National Blue Ribbon School Program's history.