Several schools in Arizona are being honored at the national level for going above and beyond.
Each year, the U.S. Department of Education recognizes a number of schools across the country for raising the bar in education. This year, they’re recognizing 353 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools. Four of those are in Arizona.
- Gilbert – Neely Traditional Academy, Gilbert Public Schools.
- Phoenix – Fireside Elementary School, Paradise Valley Unified School District.
- Tucson – Senita Valley Elementary School, Vail School District.
- Tucson – Sunrise Drive Elementary School, Catalina Foothills Unified District.
The U.S. Department of Education said this honor “affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities…”
These schools are recognized on one of two performance categories, which are all based on student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates. They either get chosen for exemplary high-performing schools where they’re among the state’s highest-performing schools measured by state assessments, or exemplary achievement gap-closing schools where they’re the highest-performing schools in closing achievement gaps for student groups and students.
“I think this honor for us is really a celebration of everyone working together. And something that’s really special about Fireside is the level of support we have from our community,” said Danielle Else, the principal of Fireside Elementary School.
“I feel really lucky that this is where my kids get to go and receive their education,” added Rebecca Guglielmo, a parent with two at Fireside Elementary School.
Schools do have to be nominated and go through a process at the federal level. Once receiving the honor, schools can request a Blue Ribbon School logo or flag to display proudly.
There are numerous other schools in Arizona that have received this honor in the past. You can find a full list here.
