Three Barrington elementary schools win Blue Ribbon Awards

Three Barrington schools received the country's highest honor for academic excellence Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Education.

Grove Avenue Elementary School, Countryside Elementary School and the St. Anne Parish School were all named National Blue Ribbon Schools. Just 21 schools in Illinois and 329 nationwide earned the honor this year.

Leaders from each school gave credit to teachers, parents and students for making the awards possible.

"The staff here passionately dedicates itself to growing all learners from within our walls to outside the community," Countryside Principal Jennifer Barnabee said. "The families and communities passionately support our goals in a daily partnership with the school."

Dawn Kapka, principal of St. Anne, said the school is blessed with skilled, dedicated teachers and supportive parents who are invested in their children's education.

Grove Avenue Principal Katie Matthews said the award is a testament to students' enthusiasm for learning.

"The Blue Ribbon Award is an honor that reflects the hard work and dedication of the entire Grove community," she said.

Barnabee said she could hear cheers from teachers and students throughout the building Wednesday when she announced the award over the school's public address system.

Donna Sherwin, the office manager and marketing director for St. Anne, said the school sent out a message that it had won the award at noon, and before the end of the school day a group of parents had installed an arch of blue and white balloons in front of the building.

The celebrations are just beginning. In November, the schools will send staff representatives to Washington, D.C., to accept the awards.

This is the first Blue Ribbon Award for Countryside, the second for St. Anne and the third for Grove Avenue. Each school serves students in kindergarten through fifthth grade.

Barrington Area Unit School District 220 spokeswoman Morgan Delack said it is the first time in the district's history that it has had two schools win a Blue Ribbon award in the same year. The district has won 10 Blue Ribbons since 1993 and five since 2013.

The award indicates that the schools achieved in the top 15 percent of schools in the state when ranked by student performance on state assessments. Schools may be nominated for the award only once within a five-year period.