Soaring Eagles named a National Blue Ribbon School
Soaring Eagles Elementary School is 1 of 264 public schools in the nation to be named a 2009 National Blue Ribbon School. The award honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are either academically superior, or have made dramatic gains in student achievement and helped close gaps in achievement among minority and disadvantaged students.
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private schools based on one of two criteria:
1) Schools whose students, regardless of background, achieve in the top 10 percent of their state on state tests or in the case of private schools in the top 10 percent of the nation on nationally-normed tests.
2) Schools with at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that demonstrate dramatic improvement of student performance to high levels on state tests or nationally-normed tests.
In addition, public schools must meet Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, in reading (language arts) and mathematics. At Soaring Eagles, the percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunch grew from 37 percent to 49 percent in the past five years. In the same period, the average test scores increased 22 percent in writing, 11 percent in reading and 10 percent in math. Among African-American and Hispanic students, scores rose 10 percent in reading, 21 percent in writing and 7 percent in math.
To read more in the news article written by the Gazette, click here.