Newark Charter School and Sussex Academy, along with Dover Air Force Base Middle School, were the only public schools to win the designation of 2016 National Blue Ribbon Schools. Two private schools, religiously based, Christ The Teacher Catholic School and St. John the Beloved School also won. So what made these schools get the prize this year? I can’t answer for the religious schools, but for the public schools it was based on test scores for the Smarter Balanced Assessment and closing the “achievement gaps”, based on the very same test. Yes, let’s continue the love for Newark Charter School which seems to win every award in the state anymore based on their Smarter Balanced performance. They even got a Title I Distinguished school this year. Not that they had enough Title I kids in the school, but because they lived in the same district with a ton of Title I students. When will this love affair with this school end? Enough already! I guess all that BRINCmanship hasn’t paid off for all those school districts who joined that consortium! Interesting that the two charters have less student sub-groups than the districts they live in!
From the Delaware DOE press release:
Five Delaware schools are among 329 schools that U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. recognized today as 2016 National Blue Ribbon Schools, based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in improving student academic achievement.
Christ the Teacher Catholic School in Newark, Dover Air Force Base Middle School in the Caesar Rodney School District, Newark Charter School in Newark, St. John the Beloved School in Wilmington, and Sussex Academy charter school in Georgetown are among the 279 public and 50 private schools that will be honored at an awards ceremony November 7 and 8 in Washington, D.C. The school leaders: Sr. LaVerne King (Christ the Teacher Catholic School), David W. Santore, Ed.D (Dover Air Force Base Middle School), Gregory R. Meece (Newark Charter School), Richard Hart (St. John the Beloved School), and Patricia S Oliphant, Ed.D. (Sussex Academy) will be invited to attend the national awards ceremony with a teacher representative from each of their schools.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students achieve very high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap. Since 1982, the award affirms the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging content. The National Blue Ribbon Schools flag gracing a school’s building is a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning. National Blue Ribbon Schools are an inspiration and a model for schools still striving for excellence. Now in its 34th year, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed this coveted award on fewer than 8,500 schools.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes schools in one of two performance categories. The first category is “Exemplary High Performing Schools,” in which schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests. The second category is “Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools,” in which schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s subgroups and all students over the past five years. Student subgroup performance for each subgroup is at high levels.
The US Department of Education invites National Blue Ribbon School nominations from the top education official in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education. The Council for American Private Education (CAPE) nominates private schools. A total of 420 schools nationwide may be nominated each year.
A listing of all National Blue Ribbon Schools in Delaware:
Christ the Teacher Catholic School Newark 2016
Dover Air Force Base Middle School Dover 2016
Newark Charter School Newark 2016
St. John the Beloved School Wilmington 2016
Sussex Academy Georgetown 2016
Cape Henlopen High School Lewes 2015
Lake Forest East Elementary School Frederica 2015
W. B. Simpson Elementary School Wyoming 2015
Academy of Dover Dover 2014
John M. Clayton Elementary School Frankford 2014
Lake Forest North Elementary School Felton 2014
The Charter School of Wilmington Wilmington 2013
Richard A. Shields Elementary School Lewes 2013
Allen Frear Elementary School Dover 2013
Linden Hill Elementary School Wilmington 2012
Harry O. Eisenberg Elementary School New Castle 2012
Star Hill Elementary School Dover 2012
West Park Place Elementary School Newark 2011
Long Neck Elementary School Millsboro 2011
Nellie Hughes Stokes Elementary School Dover 2011
Christ the Teacher Catholic School Newark 2010
Newark Charter School Newark 2010
Robert S. Gallaher Elementary School Newark 2010
Woodbridge Elementary School Greenwood 2010
Marbrook Elementary School Wilmington 2009
East Millsboro Elementary School Millsboro 2008
Sussex Technical High School Georgetown 2008
Lancashire Elementary School Wilmington 2007
Etta J. Wilson Elementary School Newark 2007
Joseph M. McVey Elementary School Newark 2007
North Georgetown Elementary School Georgetown 2006
Lake Forest East Elementary School Frederica 2006
Fairview Elementary School Dover 2006
Long Neck Elementary School Millsboro 2005
Booker T. Washington Elementary School Dover 2005
Lulu M. Ross Elementary School Milford 2004
Frankford Elementary School Frankford 2004
Phillip C. Showell Elementary School Selbyville 2003
Corpus Christi Elementary School Wilmington 2001
Lord Baltimore Elementary School Ocean View 2001
Padua Academy Wilmington 1996
Seaford Middle School Seaford 1996
Sussex Technical High School Georgetown 1996
St. Matthew School Wilmington 1992
Corpus Christi School Wilmington 1990
Dover High School Dover 1987
Skyline Middle School Wilmington 1985
Christiana High School Newark 1984
Caesar Rodney Senior High School Camden 1984
Brandywine High School Wilmington 1983
Shue Middle School Newark 1983
The Season Of Myths 
The love-affair with Newark Charter School will end when the reign of Dave Sokola ends.. Please go to Meridith Chapman’s website and donate anything to better education in Delaware… There is no better way to improve education in this state than removing Dave Sokola from the Delaware General Assembly…
This is something you can do to make a difference if you live outside that district… Consider it the epic battle deciding the war between corporate education and public education; you are a soldier on the field of that battle…
This is our war… not theirs… If all of you reading comment donate $3 dollars online at her site here, … she will have $9 new dollars to put Sokola out of business……
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I hope more than three people read this comment! #didntevenneedcommoncoretofigurethatoneout
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Well, we’re already up to … two… (because I read it after it was posted and too late, found the error.. )
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