Thursday, May 29, 2008
The school has received three major awards in recent months.
GIRARD — Faculty, staff and pupils at Prospect Elementary may be smiling a little more lately, and that has nothing to do with the sunshine or soon-to-come summer vacation.
Prospect, which holds pupils in kindergarten through third grades, has received three major awards for education this year. In one of the awards, Prospect represented Ohio for a nationally recognized honor.
Earlier this year, Prospect was named a “School of Promise” by the Ohio Department of Education. This is the second year the school has earned this particular statewide honor.
In December, Prospect was named a “2006-2007 State Superintendent’s School of Distinction.” The award recognizes schools where at least 75 percent of all pupils, including those with disabilities, score at a proficient level or above on achievement tests or Ohio Graduation Tests in reading and math.
Most recently, the school was named a “National Title I Distinguished School.” The Title I Distinguished Schools Program recognizes schools that demonstrated high academic achievement for two or more consecutive years and met or exceeded state standards for yearly progress.
Prospect represented Ohio for exceptional performance as one of 71 schools from across the United States recognized with the award.
Superintendent Joseph Jeswald points to the fact that the school has earned Ohio’s “excellent” rating and exceeded Adequate Yearly Progress requirements for each of the last four years.
“Under the leadership of Principal Joanne Carmello, a strong teaching and support staff has provided pupils through the years with opportunities for success in a caring atmosphere of high expectations,” said Jeswald.
Carmello said she cannot take solo credit for any of the school’s recent achievements. She said it comes down to a collaborative effort among every person in the school and the parents who sent their children to the school for an education.
“This is a continuous, ongoing process. We monitor everyone’s progress, put all that data on spreadsheets, meet four times a year and assess any needs,” she said. “It’s basically just everyone working together.”
The idea of working together to achieve a common goal is passed on to pupils, as seen by the display of a “Learning Mountain” hanging in the hallway of the school. The mountain shows pupils how they must strive to climb to higher levels of success, with pupils’ names written near the level of state standard — proficient, accelerated or advanced — they have achieved.
Carmello said pupils who have moved on to the fourth grade are also proud of the school’s accomplishments because they realize they too have played a major role in that success over the last several years when they attended the school.
Carmello said what has made the achievements more spectacular are the accolades and support received from the community.
“It has really been nice,” she said. “Other associations have reached out and shared in our accomplishments. It has been a really good thing for the Valley.”
jgoodwin@vindy.com