St. Mary Wins National Blue Ribbon Award
National Blue Ribbon Awarded to Saint Mary School
On Wednesday, September 30, 2014 Board of Education Secretary Arne Duncan recognized 337 schools from 47 states, U. S. Virgin Islands and DoDEA schools in Germany and Japan. 287 schools are public (traditional, charter, choice, and magnet schools) and ONLY 50 private schools. Saint Mary School Buffalo Grove is one of the 50 private schools recognized and is recognized for their overall academic excellence.
The 32 year old program acknowledges public and private elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. The National Blue Ribbon School award validates the work of the entire educational community; students, educators, families.
Principal Nikki Raftery is proud of the hard work her students, teachers and parents have done and strive to each day. When asked what makes Saint Mary worthy of this distinguished award "it's not just one element. We have continued to move forward in the field of education, meet the ever-changing needs of children and equip our students with the 21st Century skills necessary for success in a global economy and a collaborative world. We are proud to say that we have implemented universal benchmarks, incorporated research-based progress monitoring tools and devoted targeted professional development for our faculty to best meet the needs of our learners. As a result we have seen steady growth in our student achievement scores. The main trend that is evident from our data is that the longer a student remains at Saint Mary School, the higher their achievement scores are. This is the result of a valued partnership between families and school as well as an indicator of strong, tailored instruction."
This is not the first time Saint Mary School has been recognized; they received this honor in 2008 as well. They are one of only 10 elementary schools in the state of Illinois who have ever been recognized twice. It is not student test scores alone that earn you a Blue Ribbon; the US Department of Education takes a detailed look at how a school is progressing and preparing its students. For a high achieving school, a commitment to continuous improvement is critical. According to Raftery, "Since our accolades in 2008, programming was added to address the changing needs of the community: A fully functional STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lab was launched, the first elementary STEM lab of its kind in Lake County, IL, to allow students in grades K-8 to explore academic content through inquiry-based learning and applied technology. A hybrid health curriculum was integrated into our PE classes in order to deliver comprehensive health education, encourage positive choices and promote healthy lifestyles. Our fine arts offerings were expanded to allow maximized student participation and deeper development of musical, theatrical and artistic expertise. Our preschool teachers developed and field tested the new Illinois State Early Learning Standards and our scheduling was retooled to afford a greater number of students the opportunity to participate in our preschool."
*The National Blue Ribbon School flag gracing an entry or flying overhead is a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning. *US Department of Education
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