Three Arkansas elementary schools -- one each in Conway, Springdale and Kingsland -- are among the nation's newly named National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2018, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced Monday.
The 36-year-old award program honors public and private schools for either their overall academic achievement or for the progress a school has made in closing achievement gaps among subgroups of students.
The Arkansas schools named Monday are:
• J.B. Hunt Elementary School in the Springdale School District.
• Kingsland Elementary School in Kingsland in the Cleveland County School District, which is headquartered in Rison.
• Woodrow Cummins Elementary School in the Conway School District.
Kingsland Elementary, under the direction of Principal William Durey, enrollment 107 last year, was recognized for exemplary progress in closing the achievement gaps among subgroups of students and all students over the past five years.
The student body is about 69 percent white and 29 percent black with 2 percent of students being "other" or two or more races/ethnic groups.
In their application for the Blue Ribbon designation, school representatives attributed student success to good teachers and good teaching, familiarity with students and their families, frequent communication with families, and positive reinforcement for student achievement and behavior.
"The leadership philosophy found at Kingsland Elementary School is one of shared responsibility and accountability," the school's application stated.
"We are all responsible for doing whatever it takes, using whatever we have in order for our school to be a safe harbor for our students, with a non-threatening atmosphere of encouragement and support. We are all accountable to our parents for their children's success; to our taxpayers for being good custodians of their tax dollars, and to each other for doing our part in educating each of our students."
J.B. Hunt Elementary and Woodrow Cummins Elementary are award recipients for exemplary high performance as measured by state assessments.
J.B. Hunt Elementary in Springdale had an enrollment of 607 in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade last school year. Of those students, 58 percent were white, 24 percent Hispanic, 5 percent black, 3 percent Asian, 8 percent Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 1 percent American Indian and 1 percent two or more races.
Michelle Doshier is the principal.
"Whether our students come from across the street or across the ocean, these students are ours," the J.B. Hunt application for the Blue Ribbon designation stated. "We love them all and are willing to work tirelessly to ensure our vision, to prepare all students to be college and career ready, lifelong learners, and productive members of society."
The school faculty undertook three years of training in the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model, resulting in less teacher-focused instruction and more of a student-centered learning approach and a greater reliance on aligning instruction from grade to grade to eliminate instructional gaps and duplication.
Woodrow Cummins Elementary in Conway, enrollment 553 -- 73 percent white, 15 percent black and 7 percent Hispanic -- is under the direction of Principal Dayna Kay Lewis.
"Our school mantra is, 'We don't do bad days...every day is a good day!'" the Cummins application for the Blue Ribbon status stated. "Even though we serve a large, diverse population of students, Woodrow Cummins Elementary embodies a family-like atmosphere that is welcoming to all students, families, staff, and school community. This is evident each morning as our assistant principal greets each and every student with singing and dancing for our 'Morning Musical Drop-Off.'"
That dancing assistant principal has been featured on national news programs and People magazine.
"Our school is in a constant state of analysis, reflection, and improvement of curriculum and instruction," the application also stated. "Instructional time is protected by limiting classroom distractions. Grade level teachers have daily common planning periods to collaborate and openly discuss instruction."
In all, 349 schools -- 300 public and 49 non-public schools -- are the honorees this year. Public schools are initially nominated by their state's chief school officer. Non-public schools are nominated by the Council for American Private Education. Nominated schools are then invited by the U.S. Department of Education to apply.
Representatives of the winning schools are invited to an awards ceremony and other events in their honor Nov. 7-8 in Washington, D.C.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools program has honored more than 8,800 schools in its 36-year history.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Monday that he applauded the teachers, administrators and other staff at the three Arkansas schools for their efforts to provide students with a high-quality education.
"While the work of an educator is never done, their hard work has paid off, and it communicates that Arkansas is serious about education," he said. "Thank you, teachers and students, for leading the way, and congratulations."
Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key said the schools "serve as models of excellence and are helping Arkansas lead the way in student-focused education."
Metro on 10/02/2018