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Solon schools win another blue ribbon
(by Sue Hoffman - September 11, 2008)
Solon schools win another blue ribbon
By SUE HOFFMAN
For the fourth consecutive year, the U.S. Department of Education has named a Solon school as a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School, school officials announced Monday. This year, Solon High School is receiving the honor.
"We have received formal notification from the department of education in Ohio that Solon High School is a winner," Superintendent Joseph V. Regano told the school board. "We are proud of the work the high school has done."
He said the award represents a culmination of the hard work of the entire district. "As proud as we are of the high school, it's also a district award for the K-8 teachers and administrators." Mr. Regano said that every employee in the district contributed to the achievement.
School board members agreed, praising the district's administration, staff and students, as well as a supportive community.
The award involved "a rigorous application process," Mr. Regano said. In order to win the award, the high school had to meet all of the necessary criteria, including the critical adequate yearly progress markers, which measure student achievement, he said.
"For Solon, this national award recognizing student achievement at Solon High School is an independent endorsement of the district's ongoing commitment to positively affect the learning and achievement of all students," he said. "The Blue Ribbon Award is results oriented and requires Solon students to be achieving at the highest levels in the state."
In October, Solon High School Principal George Steyer, Assistant Principal Terry Brownlow and English teacher Ed Kramer will travel to Washington, D.C., to receive the award.
During the award conference, Solon High School staff will present one of 15 selected breakout sessions and one of two for high schools. Solon will share its double-block program through which students are given more time to learn language arts and math concepts by taking those classes for two consecutive periods. The double block is showing achievement results for students by closing learning gaps and ensuring that students do not fall behind in earning high school credits toward graduation, school officials said.
Receiving a fourth Blue Ribbon Award highlights the academic success of Solon students, which is due in large part to the implementation of research-based best-teaching practices and the building of professional learning communities throughout all of Solon's schools, Mr. Regano said. This collaborative structure fosters the teamwork and interdependence necessary to more sharply focus on individual student learning needs, he said.
The Solon School District ranked second in the state in the recently released state report card.
The No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools program is an annual award to recognize elementary and secondary schools across the United States that make significant progress in closing achievement gaps or whose students, regardless of background, achieve at very high levels. Solon High School was nominated by the Ohio Department of Education as one of the state's highest performing schools, ranking in the top 10 percent of all schools in the state in mathematics and reading achievement.
Solon High School was one of 14 schools in Ohio nominated for the award.
To receive the national Blue Ribbon School Award, the staff engaged in a lengthy application process detailing the school's efforts over several years to use data to enhance instruction and student achievement, Mr. Regano said.
In addition, federal education officials scrutinized student performance on the Ohio Graduation Tests and other assessments taken last spring. The data ensured that achievement levels of students continued to improve and that the school met the federal designations for adequate yearly progress for all students and student subgroups, school officials said.
Making adequate yearly progress requires a school to meet incremental goals for achievement levels in reading and language arts and mathematics within all subgroups of students, including those with disabilities, ultimately leading to 100 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards.
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