NEWS

From the Kansas State Department of Education

120 SE 10^th Ave., Topeka, KS 66612-1182

Public Information (785) 296-3723

November 29, 2006

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Karla S. Denny, Coordinator

Communications & Recognition Programs

Kansas State Department of Education

(785) 296-4876

Five Kansas Schools Nominated

for the 2007 Blue Ribbon Schools Program

Topeka – Five elementary schools were selected and nominated by the Kansas State Department of Education for the 2006-2007 National No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools Program. The nomination letter was forwarded to U.S. Department of Education earlier today. The final selection of Blue Ribbon Schools for 2007 will be made in September 2007.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors elementary and secondary schools that make significant progress in closing the achievement gap, recognizing those schools that have at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds and have dramatically improved student performance to high levels in reading and mathematics. The program also recognizes schools whose students achieve in the top 10 percent.

In the nomination letter, Kansas Interim Education Commissioner Dale M. Dennis noted: “I am proud of the progress being made in Kansas schools. I believe the five schools nominated for this program are stunning examples of the achievement that is possible when committed and caring educators focus their energies on ensuring all students learn to high standards.”

A committee consisting of school administrators, staff members from previous Blue Ribbon Schools, representatives from the Kansas Association of School Boards, and the Kansas National Education Association, reviewed the data on schools deemed to be dramatically improving and achieving at high levels.*

The result of the process was the selection of the five schools in two categories.

A. Schools qualifying in the top 10 percent of the state with at least 40 percent disadvantaged students—

Morris Hill Elementary School, USD 475 Geary County

4400 First Division Road

Fort Riley, KS 66442-1016

Principal: Mr. Greg Lumb,

Superintendent: Mr. Ronald Walker

-more-

Eisenhower Elementary School, USD 475 Geary County

1625 St. Marys Road

Junction City, KS 66441-4038

Principal: Mrs. Susan Kamphaus

Superintendent: Mr. Ronald Walker

Buckner Performing Arts Magnet, USD 259 Wichita

3530 E. 27 N

Wichita, KS 67220-2499

Principal: Ms. Lichelle Garner

Superintendent: Mr. Winston Brooks

Lincoln Elementary School, USD 431 Hoisington

516 N. Pine

Hoisington, KS 67544-2103

Principal: Mr. Alan Charles

Superintendent: Mr. Demitry Evancho

B. Schools qualifying as dramatically improving with at least 40 percent disadvantaged students---

Herington Elementary School, USD 487 Herington

201 E. Hawley

Herington, KS 67449-3098

Principal: Mr. Richard DeMont

Superintendent: Mr. Scott M. Carter

*Process for identifying “dramatically improving” schools and “schools achieving at high levels.”

Dramatically Improving Schools: KSDE staff first determined that the schools met the minimum requirements set out in the program, ensuring that 40 percent or more of the school’s population came from disadvantaged backgrounds, that the school had not been on improvement in the past two years and that the percentage of the school’s students participating in the 2006 reading and mathematics assessments who performed at the meets standard level or above was at least at the 60^th percentile. Staff then collected reading and mathematics assessment results for the schools for the past three years. Schools that did not show improvement on assessments of at least 15 percentage points from 2004 through 2006 were removed from the list.

Schools Achieving at High Level: A list of schools that performed in the top 10 percent of the state on the 2005 reading and mathematics assessments in terms of the percent of students at meets standard and above was prepared. The list included aggregate performance for the school as well as the performance of each subgroup within the school. Schools where any subgroup fell more than five percentage points below the performance of the aggregate were eliminated. The committee also considered the demographic mix of the schools and the performance trend on assessments over a three-year period in determining whether to nominate any of the schools for the No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools Award.

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