St. John Regional Catholic School students cheered Tuesday when principal Karen Smith announced their new status as a National Blue Ribbon School.But the gift of no homework for the evening brought deafening screams.
Smith delivered the surprise announcement to 572 students who didn't know why they were gathered for an end-of-day assembly.
Smith set the stage by asking the children how many of them had ever been to the Great Frederick Fair. After nearly every hand went up, she explained that people enter competitions at the fair. Winners of those events get ribbons of a variety of colors, with the first-place winners receiving blue ribbons.
"About a year ago, Mr. Fer and I decided to enter a contest to name the best schools," she said, referring to Assistant Principal Paul Fer. "We found out today we won the blue ribbon."
The honor goes to everyone at the school, she said, as teachers distributed blue bead necklaces. A blue ribbon attached to the beads had a small blue card with a poem about St. John being named a Blue Ribbon School.
The students' scores on standardized tests played a big role in winning the award, Smith said, and it was important to her that they all receive a small gift to remember the event.
"Winning the Blue Ribbon award is a big deal for this school," school board President Frank Lipscomb told students.
Teachers and staff members weren't left out; each received a blue helium-filled balloon.
St. John is one of 10 Maryland schools out of 314 nationwide to receive the Blue Ribbon designation from the U.S. Department of Education. It is Frederick County's only winner this year.
Each year since 1982, the education department has sought out and celebrated public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students attain and maintain high academic goals.
Honored schools have placed in the top 10 percent on state or national assessments, or have shown dramatic improvement in student performance. St. John was awarded for being in the top 10 percent of assessments.
Under the No Child Left behind Act, schools must achieve adequate yearly progress for the past two years, including the award year.
A total of 413 schools nationwide can be nominated, based on the number of K-12 students and the number of schools in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to a press release from the Department of Education. In addition, the Council for American Private Education can nominate 50 schools.
"We submitted the scores for our highest grade taking the tests," said Jean Wright, director of development and admissions. "Much of this award is thanks to the eighth-graders of the class of 2008."
This year, representatives from 264 public schools and 50 private schools will be honored at an awards ceremony Nov. 3 in Washington.
"I'm beyond being proud," Smith said after she dismissed students for the day. "This application process started more than a year ago and we've been wading through all the steps since then."
Smith said it was a relief to finally get the official announcement. Winning schools are notified they might want to plan a celebration, but that notice stop shorts of spilling the beans.
"I just wanted to finally see it in print and that happened today," Smith said.
The application process was arduous and many people helped with it, she said. Much research was required to fill out the 72 pages of paperwork. But Smith said it was important to apply because it recognizes every member of the St. John family.
"When you know you're doing good things, you want to get that word out to the community," Smith said. "What better way to get that word out than by being a Blue Ribbon School?"
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