Less than one year after receiving
a beautiful, new, state-of-the-art building, Upper St. Clair
High School has secured yet another foothold on the new millennium:
a 2000 Blue Ribbon School Award from
the U.S. Department of Education. The Blue Ribbon,
the most prestigious education award in the country, distinguishes
Upper St. Clair High School for its excellence in leadership,
teaching, curriculum, student achievement, parent involvement,
and community support.
For school officials, the award represents a great honor for the
students, teachers, staff members, and parents of Upper St. Clair,
but is just the beginning the school's journey to be the very
best.
Schools selected for recognition prepared an extensive written
nomination package representing a thorough self-evaluation. The
process (in itself a challenging experience) involved assessing
the strengths and weaknesses of the school and developing improvement
plans for the future. When evaluating nominations, the Department
of Education looks for overall school quality, including:
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challenging standards and curriculum
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excellent teaching
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ongoing professional development by teachers and staff members
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a safe and supportive school environment
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family and community partnerships that contribute to school
quality
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high or improving student performance on measures of achievement
Upper St. Clair High School was one of 198 schools selected from
a large pool of nominees.
Also, on October 24, 2001, Eisenhower Elementary School
was formally presented with the Blue Ribbon Award, a Nationally
Recognized School of Excellence, earned during the 2001-01 school
year. Attending the ceremony in Washington DC were Eisenhower
Principal Patricia Smith, fourth level teacher Nancy Muha and
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Catherine Luke. Smith said the relationship
between the school and its community is a major reason for its
success.
Among criteria evaluated are high student retention and graduation
rates, challlenging standards and curriculum and student performance.
Award-winning schools must demonstrate that they can provide a
learning environment where students of different abilities and
backgrounds can excel.
A letter from Timothy Steinhauer, Principal Ft. Couch Middle
School
Thursday, June 06, 2002
As you all know, Ft. Couch Middle School has earned a
third National Blue Ribbon of Excellence.
We are one of only a small handful of middle schools who can claim
this exceptional accomplishment. Nationwide, only 172 schools
earned this remarkable award for excellence. In addition, only
13 other middle and high schools in Pennsylvania earned a Blue
Ribbon this year.
The National Blue Ribbon is awarded to schools that are models
of excellence and equity. It is designed to honor the hard work
of students, staff, families, and the community in creating this
excellence. Earning a Blue Ribbon of Excellence is a difficult
task. The school must meet many high standards and be able to
show not just through a written application but through a validating
visit by an educational expert who must verify that we deserve
this honor.
I am very proud of our teachers, secretaries, aides, custodians,
and cafeteria workers. But most importantly, I am proud of the
entire student body for this exceptional accomplishment. The site
visitor who came to us in March had this to say about the students
at Fort Couch:
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The students are actively involved in all aspects of the
school.
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Noted the high level of participation in a variety of extra-curricular
activities.
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Remarked how the students gave back to their community including
the enormous amount of money raised during the annual reach
out event.
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The students continue to score among the top schools in the
state on standardized achievement tests.
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But probably the most important quote from the report stated,
"Many highly successful future leaders will emerge from
this student body."
A special thanks to our departing 8th level students who have
consistently exceeded our expectations for behavior and academic
performance. This award is a direct representation of you hard
work. Again I congratulate the staff and students at Fort Couch
for this accomplishment.
Although we will have a bigger celebration in the Fall after
we travel to Washington D.C. to accept the award, your teachers
and I wanted to celebrate with all of the students who where here
during this year-long process.
An interesting note, we are the last USC school who will receive
the Blue Ribbon because in the future it will be called the "No
Child Left Behind Award". Although earning a Blue Ribbon
of Excellence is a difficult process, we know that there are no
shortcuts to any thing worth having.
Upper St. Clair
is one of only four districts in the nation which had all schools
in its district receive the award.
More about the National Blue Ribbon
Award.
