New Canaan School Named A 2018 National Blue Ribbon School

NEW CANAAN, CT — New Canaan's West Elementary School has been named one of four Connecticut public schools as a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School, an annual award bestowed on schools across the nation for high academic performance or greatest progress in achievement gap closure among subgroups.

The announcement was made Monday by Gov. Dannel Malloy and New Canaan Public Schools. The other three Connecticut public schools to receive the honor are awarded this year are:

• University of Hartford Magnet School, a CREC school
• Forest School in West Haven
• Haddam-Killingworth High School in Regional School District 17

"My congratulations to Principal Jan Murphy, Assistant Principal Ashley Furnari, and the entire
faculty and staff at West Elementary School. You truly personify excellence in our field," said
New Canaan Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi in a statement. "Accepting this prestigious award speaks as much to our entire elementary program as it does to any one of our schools. We are quite proud of our students' impressive accomplishments, and are grateful for this national recognition."

Speaking about all of the honorees, Gov. Malloy stated, "Every student from every background and every walk of life deserves a quality education that allows them to succeed. With exemplary schools like this year’s Blue Ribbon award winners, it’s no wonder that we have record-high graduation rates and students who are among the best in the nation. We congratulate these schools and their teachers, students, and families for their collective efforts to nurture positive school communities – they are all helping to shift the growing possibilities for our next generation in a positive direction."

About West School:

Based on 2016-17 accountability reports, West School in New Canaan, a PK-4 school, earned 97.5 percent of all possible points across indicators. This accountability index was the highest of all Schools of Distinction. Therefore, West School was nominated for the Blue Ribbon award in the Exemplary High Performing category. The school administration identifies collaboration as a key factor driving the school’s success. There are strategic efforts to encourage collaboration and teamwork across staff, keeping the needs of students at the center of every conversation. One example of this is the school’s Universal Screening Team (UST) at each grade level. The UST convenes at the close of each trimester to ensure that instruction is meeting the needs of all students by providing the appropriate level of ongoing challenge and support. Collaboration extends to families who are engaged in a strong and active Parent Teacher Council, sponsoring a variety of school community events such as One Book West, Family Math Night, and Kids Care.

Added Connecticut Education Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell, "We are excited to celebrate four Connecticut schools that are transforming the futures of students by delivering a top-quality education in the classroom. Congratulations to our Blue Ribbon Schools on the collective effort and hard work by students, parents, educators and community partners to earn this prestigious honor."

From the New Canaan Public Schools announcement:

"I'm pleased to celebrate with you as your school is named a National Blue Ribbon School," said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, in a video message to West. "We recognize and honor your important work in preparing students for successful careers and meaningful lives. Congratulations on your students'
accomplishments and for your extraordinary commitment to meeting their unique needs."

West Elementary School is one of only 349 schools named by the U.S. Department of Education this year as a National Blue Ribbon School for 2018. The coveted award affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content.

West Elementary School was nominated this year by the Connecticut State Department of
Education based on the outstanding performance and growth of students in grades 3-4 on
statewide assessments. West is one of five schools chosen from Connecticut and the only school
from Fairfield County named a National Blue Ribbon School for 2018.

All National Blue Ribbon Schools are honored in one of two performance categories, based on all
student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:

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

The Department invites National Blue Ribbon School nominations from the top education official
in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Department of Defense
Education Activity and the Bureau of Indian Education. Private schools are nominated by The
Council for American Private Education (CAPE). Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, now in its 36th year, has bestowed recognition on
more than 8,800 schools.

On November 7-8, 2018, the Secretary and the Department of Education will celebrate with 300
public and 49 private school honorees at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

From Malloy's announcement:

The Connecticut State Department of Education (SDE) uses data from the Next Generation Accountability System to nominate schools for the National Blue Ribbon School award. Nominated schools must complete an application process and be approved by the U.S. Department of Education. All selected schools in Connecticut demonstrated outstanding overall achievement in 2016-17 and were identified as Schools of Distinction. National Blue Ribbon Schools are identified in two categories – Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing and Exemplary High Performing.

Forest School (West Haven)

Forest School located in West Haven enrolls students in Grades PK-4. As a school in an Alliance District, the majority of students (76 percent) are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Additionally, 23 percent of students at Forest School are English learners with over 16 different languages spoken at home. Forest prides itself on its model of layered shared leadership designed to support teachers to ensure learning for their diverse student body. The instructional team at Forest includes a mathematics coach and reading consultant as well as a special education team and an English learner team. Collectively, and with strong district support and coordination, these educators work closely with classroom teachers, providing model lessons, research-based instructional strategies, and other key resources to realize their foundational principle that “all students can succeed.” Forest is a school demonstrating success in terms of strong academic growth in mathematics and ELA for high needs students, leading to its nomination as an Exemplary Gap Closing school.

Haddam-Killingworth High School (Higganum)

Haddam-Killingworth High School is identified as an Exemplary High Performing school based on its 2016-17 accountability index. Included in the accountability index is the four-year graduation rate for all students (95.2 percent) and the six-year graduation rate for high needs students (100 percent), both exceeding state targets. In their Blue Ribbon School application, the school administration expressed that they are most proud of their success in personalizing the student experience. They offer a wide range of “traditional” courses, a variety of online learning opportunities, an internship program where students earn credit through experiential learning within the community, and they have developed a system to support students who are interested in pursuing highly unique learning opportunities not found in a typical course of studies. HKHS has established a goal that all students graduate having completed a college and/or career experience. To this end, they expanded course offerings as well as added a transition coordinator. The 2016-17 accountability report shows that 84.8 percent of students in Grades 11 and 12 have taken at least two courses specifically designed to prepare students for college and/or career (Indicator 5), again surpassing the state target of 75 percent.

University of Hartford Magnet School (West Hartford)

The University of Hartford Magnet School (UHMS) is operated by the Capitol Region Education Council. The school serves Grades PK-5 students from more than 30 Connecticut towns. The school’s theme is “Learning through Multiple Intelligences.” The curriculum is built on inquiry and problem solving and focuses on relationships that exist across all disciplines. The school’s location and partnership with the University of Hartford and the Hartt School provide students opportunities not typically available in elementary school. For two consecutive years, UHMS students demonstrated very strong growth in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. In particular, it was the sustained growth of high needs students (English learners, students with disabilities, and economically-disadvantaged students) that prompted the Blue Ribbon nomination in the Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing category.

For more information about the program, please visit the USED’s National Blue Ribbon Schools Program webpage.

Image via New Canaan Public Schools

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