Two Wheaton elementary schools have earned spots among the 335 National Blue Ribbon Schools honored by the U.S. Department of Education this week.
Wheaton-Warrenville Community Unit District 200’s Longfellow and Emerson elementary schools received the recognition Tuesday by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
“Both schools have incredibly dedicated staff,” said District 200 superintendent Jeff Schuler, who said he visited the two schools Wednesday morning to congratulate the principals and staff. “It couldn’t be done without the combination of strong teachers, phenomenal students, supportive families and good leadership.”
The National Blue Ribbon Schools will be officially recognized at a ceremony Nov. 9-10 in Washington, D.C. In the past 33 years, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognized more than 8,000 of America’s public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students either achieve high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap, DOE officials said in a news release.
“The honor recognizes your students’ accomplishments and the hard work and dedication that went into their success,” Duncan said in a video message to the awardees.
Both Longfellow and Emerson elementary schools were recognized in the category of Exemplary High Performing Schools, which are among the state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or national tests. The category also recognizes the highest levels of student subgroup performance and high school graduation rates.
The application process for the recognition takes place over two school years, Schuler said, and requires that the Illinois State Board of Education nominate a group of schools after the first school year. The nominated schools then go through an individual application process for the award, he said.
“I think the desire is for that level of achievement actually gets sustained over multiple years,” Schuler said.
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Longfellow Elementary School touts its small class sizes, and has just four classrooms at each grade level from kindergarten to fifth grade, with an average of 23 students per class, according to its Blue Ribbon application.
The school serves about 400 students and has a program for English Language Learners — 47 identified ELL students speak about 10 different languages or 19 home languages. Longfellow also has a full-time reading specialist and a part-time reading teacher available to teach at-risk students in small groups.
Longfellow additionally has one of the district’s largest gifted programs, which services 46 students. A full-time gifted specialist teaches intermediate students in reading and math, according to the application.
Emerson Elementary School embodies rich ethnic and socioeconomic diversity, according to its Blue Ribbon application. Of its 335 students, about 74 percent are white, 14 percent are Hispanic, 5 percent are African American, 4 percent are Asian and 4 percent are multi-racial. About 29 percent of students qualify as low-income and 6 percent have limited English proficiency.
Emerson provides fine arts, music, physical education and technology programs to help nurture relationships with each student..
“Through establishing relationships with each child and family, Emerson celebrates unique differences and creates learning opportunities which teach beyond the classroom,” the application says.
Schuler said each school’s faculty, staff and students are excited by the honor, and that the schools aim to work hard to continue their achieved excellence.
“What this does is affirm that the work is in place,” he said. “And it lets us know that we can sustain that commitment to success.”
Twitter: @marwaeltagouri