Pin on the blue ribbon
BY JENNIE KEY | JKEY@COMMUNITYPRESS.COM
They are in a blue mood at St. James School in White Oak this week: a Blue Ribbon mood.
Students and staff are celebrating the school's fourth designation as a Blue Ribbon School.
"We are very proud," said assistant principal Randy Moning. "St. James is the first and
only elementary school to be awarded this national recognition four times,"
St. James is joined by two other schools in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati: Guardian Angels
in Mt. Washington and Our Lady of the Visitation in Green Township. There were only four
private schools statewide to receive the honor.
The U.S. Department of Education's No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program
honors public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior in their
states or demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. The winning schools will
be presented a plaque and a flag signifying their NCLB-Blue Ribbon School status at
a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Nov. 12-13. The principal and a teacher from
each school attend the ceremony.
St. James principal Kevan Hartman said his school will have a drawing to determine
which teacher will travel to Washington to receive the award for the school.
Moning said students were excited about the award when told at Mass Wednesday.
St. James was designated as a Blue Ribbon School in 1988, 1992, 1999 and now 2007.
The school has an enrollment of 882 students and about 60 staff members, Hartman said.
The principal said staff and parents continue to do whatever they can to maintain a
standard of excellence at St. James, and many students have parents who attended.
"This has been a strong school for many years," Hartman said. "But we would be
pursuing the high standards even without the national recognition. Many of our
parents are former students and they know our expectations." Hartman and Moning
said the recognition shows the dedication and hard work of the students, staff and parents.
"We have phenomenal parental and parish support," Hartman said.                           

 Qualifying factors

St. James administrators prepared an extensive nomination application including a thorough self-evaluation, but student performance qualified the school for consideration.

Principal Kevan Hartman said the eighth-grade student average for reading and math on standardized achievement tests had to be in the top 10 percent nationwide for the school to be considered.

When evaluating the applications, the Department of Education looks for overall quality, professional development by teachers and staff members a safe and supportive school environment and family and community partnerships.