West Haven School Named A 2018 National Blue Ribbon School

WEST HAVEN, CT — Forest School in West Haven was one of four public schools in Connecticut to be named a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced this week. The annual award is bestowed on schools across the nation for high academic performance or greatest progress in achievement gap closure among subgroups.

The other Connecticut public schools to receive the award are University of Hartford Magnet School, a CREC school in West Hartford, West School in New Canaan and Haddam-Killingworth High School in Regional School District 17. To sign up for West Haven breaking news alerts and more, click here.

“Every student from every background and every walk of life deserves a quality education that allows them to succeed,” Malloy said in a press release. “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.”

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.

“We are excited to celebrate four Connecticut schools that are transforming the futures of students by delivering a top-quality education in the classroom,” Education Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell said. “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.”

About Forest School in 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.

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