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Blue-ribbon school
Holy Name, Birmingham, honored as a U.S. school of excellence
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published November 14, 2008
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Todd Zoellick, of the U.S. Department of Education, told Holy Name students that they were an example to other schools for their Blue Ribbon recognition. |
Birmingham — When those at Holy Name School in Birmingham talk about their recent Blue Ribbon Award, the words "excellence" and "excellent" come up a lot.
And the school's excellence was the main topic at an assembly last Thursday afternoon when the school was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for its award. Holy Name was the only school in Michigan to be recognized this year for its success maintaining high standards for federal No Child Left Behind guidelines.
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Second-graders Audrey Stachelski and Elise Carter show off the blue ribbon cookies that were part of the celebration for being named one of the nation's top schools. |
School principal Mary Ann Grady said the school qualified first by falling into the top 10 percent of Iowa standardized testing scores for reading and math, and then filling out a lengthy application. They received word in January they'd been nominated, and in September that they had won the award for high academic performance. (A separate award is for gains in achievement.)
Grady said those at Holy Name knew that the school had high standards from the beginning. "We have a tradition of academic excellence," she said. "It's nice to have the nation know."
Grady explained that to ensure students were receiving a high-caliber education, teachers met to discuss the standardized test results to see what students needed to work on as a class, and also to see what their incoming class needed to work on from the year before. Also, each year the school picks an area for the students to work on, such as punctuation or math.
Grady said that it takes a team to educate students — students come to school prepared to learn, the teachers are prepared to teach their students, and the parents are committed to working with their children at home and to Catholic education.
Mary Ann Hribar, a second-grade teacher who was involved with the Blue Ribbon application, said the school's administration, parents and teachers dedicated to the extra hours needed for education are part of what got the school recognized. "We've had the excellence there," she said. "We (just) had to fill out the application."
At last week's assembly, Todd Zoellick, of the U.S. Department of Education said that Holy Name is a part of a very small, very special group of schools. "Students, you become an example to other schools across the nation," he said. He also honored teachers in the audience, and had the students yell "thank you" to them. The assembly's master of ceremonies was Holy Name pastor, Msgr. John Zenz.
Paul Long, of the Michigan Catholic Conference, told students that there was another person sharing in the celebration — Jesus Christ. At a Catholic school, not only do they pray together, "but Jesus is there, every day, in the classroom," he said.
To finish off the celebration, three students shared essays on why Holy Name was a Blue Ribbon school, and everyone had small parties in their classrooms with Blue Ribbon cookies, t-shirts, bumper stickers and pencils.
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