Team effort earns Blue Ribbon for Lisle school
Students, parents, faculty and staff at St. Joan of Arc Elementary School in Lisle all should share in the school's most recent achievement: the 2011 National Blue Ribbon from the U.S. Department of Education.
That's because everyone involved with the school worked together to earn the award, said Principal Sister Carolyn Sieg.
“It's a collective team that we got this blue ribbon, so I think everyone shares in the joy,” Sieg said Friday.
The school, which instructs kids from preschool to eighth grade, will celebrate with a “blue-out” rally after Sieg and other school representatives receive the award Nov. 15 in Washington, D.C., said Mara Cooney, school board president.
Cooney, who has five children attending St. Joan of Arc and two who graduated eighth grade this spring, said the award is a sign of the school's quality.
“It's just an affirmation of why we're sending our kids there,” she said.
Cooney of Lisle attended St. Joan of Arc in her youth, graduating in 1982. Aside from serving on the school board, she also teaches fifth grade art classes. She said she's not the only parent who volunteers time and talent to help the school and its students prosper.
“There's a lot of parental involvement; there's a lot of teacher support,” Cooney said. “(Catholic school is) an investment and that's kind of the way people look at it.”
Cooney said St. Joan of Arc received the National Blue Ribbon for high achievement and a history of strong test scores.
“Anything we do here as a school, it's done with passion and enthusiasm,” Sieg said.
At other winning schools, at least 40 percent of students from disadvantaged backgrounds improve their performance on state tests to high levels.
St. Joan of Arc is among 19 schools in Illinois and 304 in the nation to receive the award. It's also one of 49 private schools nationwide to be honored.
Sieg said she submitted an application to the Council for American Private Education, which then nominated St. Joan of Arc for the National Blue Ribbon.
“I just felt it was time to get the national recognition,” Sieg said. “To get the excitement.”
While this is not the first time the school has earned national honors, it is St. Joan of Arc's first Blue Ribbon. The school previously won the School of Excellence award from the U.S. Department of Education for the 1985-86 academic year, Sieg said.