Libertyville's St. Joseph school earns Blue Ribbon

Libetyville's St. Joseph School celebrated a federal government honor for academic excellence Sunday.

St. Joseph has been named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. St. Joseph was one of 314 schools that received the kudos for 2009 when the announcement was made in September.

More than 150 spectators attended Sunday's Blue Ribbon ceremony at St. Joseph Catholic Church. Event speakers included student council president Daniella Propati and Mary Paul McCaughey, the Archdiocese of Chicago's superintendent of Catholic schools.

In presenting the award, Department of Education special events director Timothy Tuten said the Chicago area's Catholic school system has gained a reputation for producing academic excellence with limited money.

"(Education) Secretary (Arne) Duncan has often said it's the combination of great leadership, great teachers and great community participation from parents that make an effective school," Tuten told the crowd. "And that's totally the case here."

Tuten pointed to Daniella as an example of what's working at St. Joseph School. Daniella is reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Great Gatsby," has Princeton and Georgetown universities on her list and is studying economics.

Daniella, an eighth-grader, said St. Joseph's education goes beyond the classroom. She said children are active in the parish and assist local charities.

"We are proud of this (Blue Ribbon) achievement," Daniella said.

Public and private schools must meet one of two standards to achieve Blue Ribbon status, according to the Department of Education.

Officials said the honor can go to schools where students, regardless of background, achieve in the top 10 percent of their state on standardized tests. Similarly, private schools must be in the top 10 percent of the United States on nationally normed tests.

Blue Ribbon winners also can be schools with at least 40 percent of students from disadvantaged backgrounds that demonstrate dramatic performance improvement to high levels on state or nationally normed exams.

Schools must meet No Child Left Behind adequate yearly progress in mathematics and reading.

McCaughey said the archdiocese has more Blue Ribbon schools than any system in the country.

"Excellence is intentional," McCaughey said. "Excellence takes work."