By Michael V. Hannigan
Monday afternoon there was a reception in the Malakoff Elementary library to celebrate the school’s nomination as a Blue Ribbon School.
I wrote about the nomination last week. MES was one of 26 public schools in Texas nominated for the recognition and the only school in Henderson County.
Monday, Superintendent Randy Perry told the gathered teachers and administrators, “What you’ve accomplished is extraordinary, and the way that its been done is through the hard work of the people in this room. … I appreciate your hard work, I appreciate the leadership that Mr. Snow has shown, not only in this past year but in the last several years.”
Principal Ronny Snow also spoke, sometimes emotionally.
“This means we’ve reached a pinnacle,” he said. “There are going to be thousands and thousands and thousands of educators that will go through their whole career and never reach this pinnacle.”
“This is like a state championship in academics, only its a national championship. It is basically the top 1 percent of all campuses in the state that have 25 percent or more economically disadvantaged. … It is truly an unimaginable accomplishment.”
Snow was emphatic that the credit went to everyone: “It goes without saying, the dedication of all of you to the kids; the tutorials Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; the being here in the summer when you are not paid.”
“It doesn’t matter what the scores say, I know the scores say that we’re Blue Ribbon, but I knew we were Blue Ribbon long before that. Because I knew that we cared about more than just the scores.”
All schools that have been nominated for the 2015 honor were selected as exemplary high performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests. Each school has an economically disadvantaged population of 25 percent or greater.
The nominated schools must now complete a rigorous application process through the U.S. Department of Education. Announcements of the national award winners will be made in September 2015. Schools that receive the award are recognized at the Blue Ribbon School conference in Washington, D.C.