2 Dublin Schools Earn 'National Blue Ribbon' Honors

DUBLIN, CA — Two schools in Dublin, Fallon Middle and Kolb Elementary, were awarded "National Blue Ribbon Schools" status Friday — a U.S. Department of Education honor for academic success that was bestowed on 297 schools nationwide for 2022.

The recognition is based on overall academic excellence or progress in closing achievement gaps — an award that affirms the work of students, educators, families and communities, the department said.

The schools will be formally honored in early November by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel A. Cardona at a ceremony in Washington D.C.

"Blue Ribbon Schools have gone above and beyond to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional and mental health needs," Cardona said during his "Road to Success Back to School" bus tour. "These schools show what is possible to make an enduring, positive difference in students’ lives.”

Fallon and Kolb join Dougherty Elementary School (a 2015 winner) as the three schools in the Dublin Unified School District to be recognized with this honor, officials said.

“This recognition highlights the dedication and hard work put in by the staff and students at Kolb and Fallon,” said Chris Funk, superintendent of the Dublin district that serves more than 12,900 students from preschool through adult education.

“I’d like to congratulate them on this rare achievement," Funk said. "Very few schools in the Tri-Valley have received this recognition in the nearly 40 years it has been around. Our entire community — not just the Fallon and Kolb communities — should be very proud of this honor.”

During its 39-year history, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has given approximately 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools. Along with the recognition, the selected "model schools" are presented National Blue Ribbon School flags for display at campus entryways or on flagpoles, officials said.

The U.S. Department of Education makes its decision on award-winning schools based on one of two performance categories for student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:

• Exemplary High-Performing Schools are among the state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
• Exemplary Achievement Gap-Closing Schools are among the state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.

Both Fallon and Kolb were recognized in the "Exemplary High-Performing Schools" category, the district said.

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