It would be impossible to miss the thousands of signs, announcements, and the mandatory pins and photos at school last week. If you were like me your first thought might have been that they were in solidarity of some sort. The blue ribbon is a symbol for colon cancer, autoimmune diseases, and many other movements. In this case, however, it means the reward given out by the U.S. Department of Education. But what exactly does it mean to be a “National Blue Ribbon School,” and why is it such a big deal?
The National Blue Ribbon Awards is given out for one of two reasons. Either the school has excellent performance or has shown huge improvement. For our school it is just in recognition of our academic achievements. This is the first year that our school has earned this honor, and the first year that Charleston County School District has had two winners since 1994. The middle school pick for South Carolina was Buist Academy. This is their second time winning the award. The first being in 2017.
The criterion for being nominated includes three thresholds. The school must be in the top 15% in the state for whole school performance, top 40% in the state for each subgroup (taken from the state’s accountability system), and be top 15% in the state for graduation rate and college career readiness. Our graduation rate is at 100% and 99% of students attend a four-year college after high school. We more than passed the eligibility criteria.
The award is meant to inspire other schools to look up to and learn from us. The effects of the National Blue Ribbon is said to “attract new business partners, financial assistance, and volunteers” and the “numbers of student applications soar.” It is also meant to revitalize the pride in commitment in students and faculty. That was certainly the case for our school.
Mr. Perlmutter put it best when saying:
“We are extremely proud of this National Blue Ribbon recognition. The comprehensive application process really made our team focus on the people and programs that make our school excellent. Many of those things just exist here, but when you have to sit down and explain in writing just how we create this special community, or just how the climate impacts the student outcomes, it made us more conscious of the daily mission and, at least for me, made me even more appreciative of the special place I get to work every day.”
Mr. Perlmutter and Mrs. Grayson were both travelled to Washington D.C. to receive the award representing AMHS. Within our school we had a scavenger hunt, costume contest, wore blue, and were given free BlueBell ice cream. There was also staff handing out free pins, bracelets, and putting blue ribbon signs in the lawn.
For anyone curious to read our school’s nomination form it is linked here: https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/assets/winning/asset/2024/school_application/24sc105pu_academic_magnet_high_school_finalapplication.pdf
And the Natio
nal Blue Ribbon website is here: https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/
