Central state’s only Blue Ribbon School

By SAMANTHA MORIN
Daily Press Staff Writer
On Sept. 7, the staff of Central Elementary School gathered in Principal Tammy Davis’ office to listen to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s announcement recognizing Central Elementary School as one of 269 schools throughout the nation – and the only school in New Mexico – to receive the 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools award.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools award, commissioned in 1981 by then-U.S. Secretary of Education Terrell H. Bell, was created to bring exemplary U.S. schools to public attention and to recognize those schools whose students thrived and excelled. … For the rest of the story, subscribe in print and on the web.
After many revisions, including a revision in 2003 to bring the program in line with the No Child Left Behind Law, the award honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students’ level of academic achievement.
Schools are eligible for Blue Ribbon recognition if they meet one of two criteria. The first category is “Exemplary High Performing.” These schools are ranked among their state’s highest-performing schools, as measured by state assessments in both reading and math or nationally-normed testing, regardless of the school’s demographics.