Achievements awarded

STAFF REPORT

GIRARD — Faculty, staff and students from Prospect Elementary in Girard and Lloyd Elementary in Austintown have something to celebrate this week.

Prospect Principal Joanne Carmello and Lloyd Principal Tom Lenton received letters from Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in Washington, D.C., declaring each school a “2008 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School.” The letter says the award recognizes the school’s efforts to ensure every child learns.

Carmello said a representative of the secretary of education, Kristine Cohn, made an impromptu visit to the school Tuesday afternoon. The actual award will be presented to Carmello and another representative of the school, as well as a representative of Lloyd Elementary, at an award ceremony in Washington in October.

The Blue Ribbon Award takes into account a school’s overall achievement scores over a five-year period, as well as scores by various subgroups and any programs in place at the school. A school can qualify for the award with high enough scores or a high level of improvement in the school, Carmello said.

“This is absolutely phenomenal. To have worked so hard the last several years and be recognized on a state and national level is phenomenal,” she said. “It is good to represent the district and the community in this way.”

Lenton said he views the award as a tribute to the school, the staff and the students.

“I feel completely overwhelmed,” he said. “This was a demonstration of teamwork and hard work, and the commitment of staff and parents to try to provide the best learning community that you can offer these students.”

Lenton said a great sense of school pride comes with being presented with this honor.

“These students are the torch-bearers and we want to pass that torch on,” he said. “We want to create a legacy.”

Austintown Superintendent Doug Heuer said it’s important to know that the award is not based on a single year’s performance, but on the overall performance of the past four years.

Lloyd and Prospect were among only 21 other schools in Ohio and 324 school nationwide to earn the Blue Ribbon Award.

“With those kind of numbers, we know that Lloyd has proven itself to be among the best there is in the nation,” Heuer said.