West Hill school is 1 of 295 in nation slated for honor

A certificate of distinction will be presented Thursday.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA STAFF
SHARON, Pa. -- The Sharon City School District has reason to celebrate.
One of the district's three elementary schools was named a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School for 2005 by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spelling. The school was one of only 295 nationwide and 10 in Pennsylvania to receive the designation.
"I'm just so thrilled with my staff and students," said Sheila Schneider, West Hill Elementary principal.
A certificate of distinction will be presented to the school at 9 a.m. Thursday by Robert Baker, Pennsylvania Regional Representative for the U.S. Department of Education.
Schneider said school officials have invited Gov. Ed Rendell and other elected officials to attend the presentation ceremony. No one had responded as of Monday.
How it won
West Hill Elementary garnered the designation by having two classes of fifth-graders exceed proficiency requirements on standardized test. Test scores from the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years were used, said Michael Calla, supervisor of curriculum and instruction for kindergarten through eighth grade for Sharon schools.
The tests are part of the federal No Child Left Behind law that have been in effect for the past three years. The program honors public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic gains in pupils' achievement.
"These Blue Ribbon Schools are an example of what teachers and students can achieve," Spelling said in a news release. "For the first time, we are insisting on results and accountability in return for our federal investment in education."
To qualify
The Blue Ribbon distinction requires that schools with at least 40 percent of their pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds dramatically improve on state tests or pupils' achieving in the top 10 percent of their state on state tests.