Rancho Verde Named National Blue Ribbon School

by Ronnie Zamora/LFCISD

Rancho Verde Elementary has been named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.

The entire student body of 650 students packed the RVE Cafeteria Thursday to hear the announcement by the DOE, which was live-streamed on the Internet.

RVE was one of 26 schools in Texas to receive the award. There were only two other schools from the Rio Grande Valley recognized.

“This award is the result of a lot of hard work by many people over the last five years – even teachers who are at other schools now, principal Maria Elisa Pineda said. “It has taken us many years to get to where we are now. Everyone – teachers, and all the staff like teacher aides, office staff, custodians, and cafeteria workers – has been dedicated to bring students the best education that we can provide.”

The formal presentation of the award will be held in Washington D.C. in November.

Watch a video of the announcement.

The Rancho Verde school announcement comes at the 18:20 mark of the video.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today recognized 342 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2017. The recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

About National Blue Ribbon School
“National Blue Ribbon Schools are active demonstrations of preparing every child for a bright future,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to the honorees. “You are visionaries, innovators and leaders. You have much to teach us: some of you personalize student learning, others engage parents and communities in the work and life of your local schools and still others develop strong and forward-thinking leaders from among your teaching staff.”

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students achieve very high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap.

This coveted award affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content.

Now in its 35th year, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed recognition on more than 8,500 schools. On Nov. 6-7, the Secretary and the Department of Education will celebrate with these honorees at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

All 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 subgroups and all students over the past five years.

Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year. 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).