eduTrax is a Top Sponsor of the Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Posted on December 15, 2009
SIX MARYLAND SCHOOLS NOMINATED FOR NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON PROGRAM
PROGRAM HONORS SCHOOLS FOR ACHIEVEMENT, DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT
BALTIMORE (December 15, 2009) – State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick today announced the names of six public schools that have been selected as the 2010 Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence.
The names of the six schools have been submitted to the U.S. Secretary of Education for the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. They are being recognized by the Maryland State Department of Education on the basis of rigorous state and national requirements for high achievement and dramatic improvement.
“Maryland is fortunate to have a large number of terrific schools, and making this selection from our 1,450 schools truly difficult,” Dr. Grasmick said. “We congratulate the students, teachers, parents, administrators and community members of these six outstanding schools, which serve as gleaming examples of educational excellence.”
Four of the schools are in the top 10 percent of state schools as measured by the Maryland School Assessments. The other two have achieved dramatic improvement over the past five years while serving an economically disadvantaged school population.
The schools are:
• Eastern Technical High School, Baltimore County
• Northern Middle School, Calvert County
• New Market Elementary School, Frederick County
• Ellicott Mills Middle School, Howard County
• Northwestern Elementary School, Wicomico County
• Snow Hill Middle School, Worcester County
The schools will be honored by Dr. Grasmick and other dignitaries at a banquet scheduled this coming March 15 in Annapolis. They also will be recognized with a special tribute by the Maryland General Assembly. Each school will receive more than $6,000 in technology equipment from Smart Technologies, $1,000 each from corporate sponsors, and a school-wide pizza party from Joe Corbi’s Pizza.
The schools will represent Maryland in the National Blue Ribbon Schools Competition. National winners will be announced in the fall of 2010 and be invited to Washington, DC to be honored by national officials.
Maryland corporate sponsors include Comcast, Joe Corbi’s Pizza, EduTrax, Scholastic, The SmarterKids Foundation, Sylvan Centers and Verizon of Maryland.
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2009-2010 Maryland Blue Ribbon School Highlights
Baltimore County – Eastern Technical High School
Highest Achievement
[1,263 students]
Eastern Technical High is a very high achieving school with a population that includes 20 percent economically disadvantaged students. The school’s HSA reading proficiency scores in 2009 were 99.7 percent and math proficiency was 100 percent. It has maintained a record of high achievement for over a decade, having originally been named a Maryland Blue Ribbon School in 1997. The school has been named by Newsweek Magazine (3 years in a row) and US News & World Report (2 years in a row) as being in among the nation’s top high schools.
Calvert County – Northern Middle School
Highest Achievement
[725 students]
Northern Middle exemplifies high achievement with 8th grade students scoring 94.9 percent proficient and above in reading and 93.7 percent in math. Foreign language is emphasized with 52 percent of students completing two full years of Spanish or French. In math, 35 percent of students complete Algebra I by the end of the 8th grade and 25 percent complete Algebra II. Northern Middle is a PBIS silver school which is also a winner in competitive athletic programs with champion women’s basketball and softball teams. The school also has numerous opportunities in the performing arts.
Frederick County – New Market Elementary School
Highest Achievement
[546 students]
With 100 percent of its students proficient and above in 5th grade reading and 96.2 percent in math, New Market Elementary School is an exemplary school which is home to the current Frederick County Teacher of the Year and to The Green Team – a group of students and teachers who initiated a successful composting program which fertilizes a garden of fruits and vegetables for the local food banks. Health and fitness are emphasized at New Market. The entire school exercises every morning before school and teachers incorporate movement into their daily routine as a part of assessment and instruction.
Howard County – Ellicott Mills Middle School
Highest Achievement
[709 students]
With 8th grade MSA scores in reading at 95.9 percent and math at 92.8 percent, Ellicott Mills Middle is a high achieving middle school. It won NAACP’s Certificate of Excellence in Reading, Math, and Attendance as well as the Maryland School Performance Award for Outstanding Achievement. It is a Professional Development School and has an accomplished music performance program. Ellicott Mills Middle is a leader in parent involvement. It was named a National PTA School of Excellence and was honored with the Howard County Middle School Parent Teacher Collaboration Award.
Wicomico County - Northwestern Elementary School
Sustained Improvement & High Achievement [260 students]
Northwestern Elementary, a school with 51 percent of its students on Free and Reduced Priced Meals, has student achievement at high standards with 94.4 percent of its 5th grade reading and 5th grade math students scoring in the proficient range. The school received a Maryland School Performance Recognition Award in 2008 for increasing its subgroup performance on the MSA. Northwestern Elementary is a professional learning community school with all teachers, coaches, and administrators discussing student data on a weekly basis.
Worcester County – Snow Hill Middle School
Sustained Improvement & High Achievement 4th through 8th grades [392 students]
Snow Hill Middle, with an economically disadvantaged student population (47 percent of students qualify for free or reduced price meals), has beaten the odds in improvement and high achievement. More than 90 percent of eighth grade reading scores were in the proficient reanges, an improvement by 25% since 2003. More than 85 percent of eighth grade math scores were in the proficient range, an improvement of 42.9 percent since 2003. In addition, 86 percent of the 8th grade students passed the High School Assessment (HSA) in Algebra/Data Analysis. It is a Professional Development School and an Arts Immersion School and it received the 2008 State Farm Excellence in Education Award along with the 2008 Community Foundation Excellence in Education Award.
Contact:
Darla Strouse, MSDE, 410-767-0370
Bill Reinhard, MSDE, 410-767-0486