February 2023
The National Blue Ribbon Schools program recently announced that the Kansas State Department of Education nominated a Gardner Edgerton school for the 2023 National Blue Ribbon (NBR) Schools Award Program. Edgerton Elementary School was among only five Kansas schools selected and nominated as an Exemplary High Performing School. Edgerton Elementary was invited by the National Blue Ribbon Award program to apply for the prestigious award.
To be nominated as an Exemplary High Performing School, the school
must be in the top 15 percent of all schools in the state when schools are ranked on the performance of all students who participated in the most recently administered state assessments in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics, or
a composite index that includes these assessment results and may also include assessment results in other subject areas and/or other student performance measures, such as attendance or graduation rates.
The school also must be in the top 40 percent of all schools in the state when schools are ranked on
the performance of all students in the subgroup who participated in the most recently administered state assessments in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics, or
a composite index that includes these assessment results and may also include assessment results in other subject areas and/or other student performance measures, such as attendance or graduation rates for high schools.
In addition to meeting the above performance criteria, a nominated school must have at least 100 students enrolled and have assessment data for at least 10 students in each tested grade for both reading (or English language arts) and mathematics. One-third of the public schools nominated by each state must have enrollments that include at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, all nominated public schools must meet their state's accountability requirements for all student groups and all subgroups, including having participation rates of at least 95 percent and meeting performance targets in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics and other academic indicators (i.e., attendance rate and graduation rate), using the most recent accountability results available for the year prior to the nomination (2021-22). Finally, all nominated public schools must also meet their state's accountability requirements based on the most recent accountability results available for the year in which they are nominated (2022-23).
“A National Blue Ribbon Award nomination is a public acknowledgment and testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, staff, parents and community," said Dr. Brian Huff, superintendent of schools. "The Blue Ribbon Award is the highest accolade an academic institution can receive nationally, and we are extremely proud to have received a nomination to apply for this prestigious award."
National Blue Ribbon Schools are public and non-public elementary, middle, and high schools that are producing outstanding results for all students. They have demonstrated consistent excellence, and made progress in closing gaps in student achievement. The National Blue Ribbon Schools recognition program is part of a larger U. S. Department of Education effort to identify and disseminate knowledge about effective school leadership and promising instructional practices. Since its inception in 1982, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has recognized more than 10,000 Great American Schools.
The application must be submitted by the nominated school by April 7, 2023. The final selection of the 2023 National Blue Ribbon schools will be made in September 2023.
USD 231 has a proud history of schools being recognized as Blue Ribbon Award Winners, including Sunflower Elementary (2011), Wheatridge Middle (2016), and Gardner Elementary (2017).
For more information on the National Blue Ribbon Schools, visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/index.html
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