Two
Elementary Schools Capture National Blue Ribbon
Awards
September 22, 2005
Mathews and Saigling Elementary Schools have earned the prestigious
2005 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools
Award, Texas Commissioner Shirley J. Neeley announced this week.
The U.S. Department of Education will present 25 Texas public
schools the award. This is the third group of schools to be honored
under the new No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program
(NCLB-BRS), which
recognizes outstanding public and private schools that are either
academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic
and consistent gains in student achievement.
The program recognizes schools based on student achievement results.
Under the 2005 NCLB-BRS Program, public schools are selected based
on one of two criteria:
- Schools with at least 40 percent of their students from
disadvantaged backgrounds that dramatically improve student performance
on state tests, as determined by the state school chief; and
- Schools whose students, regardless of background, achieve
in the top 10 percent on state tests.
Under No Child Left Behind, schools also must meet "Adequate
Yearly Progress," or AYP, in reading/language arts and mathematics.
Neeley praised the nominees and commended them for their student
achievement gains. "We are very proud of these No Child Left
Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools. They represent a few of the thousands
of outstanding campuses that we have in Texas," Neeley said. "They
have worked hard to earn this award by keeping the main thing the
main thing - the children they proudly serve.
These schools excelled
in their performance and I would like to congratulate the students,
teachers, administrators, parents and board members of these schools.
I offer my heartfelt congratulations to them for the hard work
and dedication that made this prestigious award possible."
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program was established by the Education
Department in 1982 and was redesigned in 2002 under the NCLB Act
to reflect the program's high standards and accountability. The
Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes schools that are meeting
the NCLB's mission to "ensure every child learns, and no child
is left behind."
The No Child Left Behind Act is the bipartisan landmark education
reform law designed to change the culture of America's schools
by closing the achievement gap, offering more flexibility to states,
giving parents more options and teaching students based on what
works.
Under the law's strong accountability provisions, states must
describe how they will close the achievement gap and make sure
all students, including those with disabilities, achieve academically.
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and the United
States Department of Education will honor the Blue Ribbon School
recipients and highlight their achievements at a ceremony in Washington
D.C. on Nov. 10-11. The award recipients will be recognized as
national models of excellence.
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