(Washington, DC) - Congressman Baron Hill congratulates Ireland Elementary School in Ireland, Indiana, and Leavenworth Elementary School in Leavenworth, Indiana, for being selected as 2009 National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.  The Southern Indiana schools are two of 314 schools nationwide receiving this designation today. 

According to a release issued by the U.S. Department of Education, the award honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are either academically superior, or have made dramatic gains in student achievement and helped close gaps in achievement among minority and disadvantaged students. Each year since 1982, the U.S. Department of Education has sought out schools where students attain and maintain high academic goals. Using standards of excellence, as evidenced by student achievement measures and the characteristics known from research to exemplify school quality, the Department celebrates schools, including those that beat the odds.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private schools based on one of two criteria: 1) Schools whose students, regardless of background, achieve in the top 10 percent of their state on state tests or in the case of private schools in the top 10 percent of the nation on nationally-normed tests; and 2) Schools with at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that demonstrate dramatic improvement of student performance to high levels on state tests or nationally-normed tests.
In addition, public schools must meet Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, in reading (language arts) and mathematics. Each state -- not the federal government -- sets its own academic standards and benchmark goals.
“I applaud the students, teachers, staff and parents of both Ireland and Leavenworth Elementary Schools,” Hill said.  “This is an outstanding achievement and a reflection of hard work all around.”

The schools – 264 public and 50 private – will be honored at an awards ceremony on November 3 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. For the past 27 years, more than 6,150 of America's schools have received this coveted award.