Holy Family Group Travels To Washington, D.C.

Founded in 1982, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels of academic achievement.  A National Blue Ribbon Schools flag flying overhead has become a mark of excellence in education recognized by everyone from parents to policymakers in thousands of communities.

Holy Family School’s journey towards becoming a National Blue Ribbon School has unfolded over the past two years.   Initially, our high academic achievement – as measured on the Spring 2012 ISTEP test – qualified us for the first phase of the application.  From there, we scrutinized what was working well in our classrooms; and more importantly, the impact that it had on our students’ achievement.  We compiled this into our application’s narratives and, upon review, were selected this fall as one of 50 non-public schools in the nation to receive this honor.

Upon receiving word that Holy Family School had been named a Blue Ribbon School, we began to plan.  We organized our school assembly – complete with special guests Mother Theodore Guerin, Cinderella, Peyton Manning, and “Duck Dynasty’s” Uncle Si, who helped inform the students of this awesome accomplishment.  We set a Day of Thanksgiving and Celebration, held Nov. 26, to give thanks to God and reward our students’ and staffs’ accomplishments.  And, we began making arrangements for the trip of a lifetime to Washington, D.C., to receive this award on behalf of the Holy Family School community. 

Our trip to Washington, while short, was full of excitement!  Father John Boeglin, Pastor of Holy Family, and Jamie Clauss, Holy Family teacher, accompanied me to D.C. for the awards program, which began with a breakfast and award ceremony from the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA).

Brother Robert Bimonte, President of NCEA, and Kathy Mears, Director of Elementary Education for NCEA, presented the 42 Catholic schools with certificates of congratulations upon being named to the 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools cohort.   Throughout the day, we had opportunities to participate in breakout sessions focused on collaboration and shared practices with the other schools, and to hear guest speakers – including Assistant Secretary of Education Deborah Delisle and 2014 National Principal of the Year Sheila Harrity. 

The official awards luncheon occurred Tuesday afternoon. We heard opening remarks from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and each school’s principal and teacher representative was called to the stage to receive the award from Aba Kumi, Director of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.  

While we were on stage accepting this award on behalf of the Holy Family School community, a photo of our student body appeared on the large screen.  This was an incredible moment, as it represents all the hard work and dedication that our teachers, students, parents, Pastor, and parishioners give on a continual basis.  

Without them, Holy Family School would not have been able to achieve an award of this magnitude. Congratulations Holy Family School - 2013 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence!