Five Kansas schools recognized as 2017 National Blue Ribbon Schools
Kansas State Department of Education
Ann Marie Bush, Communications Specialist
(785) 296-7921
TOPEKA — Five Kansas schools were among 342 schools that were designated National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2017, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced Thursday.
The award is based on the school’s overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
The Kansas schools receiving the designation are Eisenhower Elementary School, Geary County Unified School District 475; Gardner Elementary School, Gardner Edgerton USD 231; Ruth Clark Elementary School, Haysville USD 261; Sheridan Elementary School, Geary County USD 475; and Wineteer Elementary School, Derby USD 260.
“These five schools represent the great quality of education taking place throughout Kansas,” said Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson. “Kansas schools are doing a good job of preparing children for a successful future, and we will continually improve upon that as we strive to reach our vision of leading the world in the success of each student.”
The Blue Ribbon program recognizes public and private elementary, middle and high schools in one of two performance categories: Exemplary High Performing and Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing.
In the high-performing category, schools are recognized for being among the state’s highest-performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s subgroups and all students during the past five years.
All five Kansas schools were in the Exemplary High Performing category.
The U.S. Department of Education invites National Blue Ribbon School nominations from the top education official in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Department of Defense Education Activity and the Bureau of Indian Education. The Council for American Private Education (CAPE) nominates private schools. A total of 420 schools nationwide may be nominated each year.
The program is in its 35th year and has bestowed the award on more than 8,500 schools. The Department will formally recognize the schools at an awards ceremony Nov. 6-7, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
For more information about the National Blue Ribbon Schools program, visit https://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/index.html.
For more information about the Kansas State Department of Education and its vision, visit www.ksde.org.