Plenty of hard work and spending extra hours at school finally became worth it for everyone at Carpenter Elementary School at the end of January.
That’s when they learned they were one of 11 elementary schools selected by the state as a Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary School.
“This prestigious award is a tribute to our exceptional staff, wonderful students and our extremely involved supportive parents, Carpenter Principal Rose Edwards said.
She described the process of applying for the honor as very challenging but exhilarating. “Sometimes we tend to take what we do for granted and then we see all that we actually do — all in one document.”
The road to the Blue Ribbon award started last April. A few staff members met to discuss the possibility of doing the work required. When the proposal was brought before the whole staff, they decided to think about it. A week later the answer was yes.
“It requires 100 percent commitment from all the staff, including custodial, and the parents. You have to be a team,” Edwards said.
The final document sent to the state could only be a maximum of 40 pages. Edwards said that was hard to do because you wanted to write and write about how wonderful your school is.
She compared the document to a grant thesis.
The focus for staff at Carpenter was to show the state they had achieved high academic standards or they had made significant academic improvements over a five year period.
Other categories included school, family and community partnerships; school organization and culture, leadership and educational vitality; and student focus and support.
Once completed, the document was submitted to the state where a committee of educators critiqued all the applications.
The schools were narrowed down to a few. Those received a site visit by another group of educators. They came to Carpenter in December.
“They spent the entire day,” Edwards said. “They popped into classrooms, chatted with students and parents. They went through all of our documentation.”
Carpenter had cases of documentation, all written. “That’s why it’s such a prestigious award. You really earn it,” Edwards added.
Carpenter will not be a candidate for a National Blue Ribbon Exemplary School. The US Department of Education eliminated that program last year and replaced it with a new program focused entirely on test scores.
Michigan’s Board of Education elected to maintain the previous program. That meant no state school would qualify for national honors.
“We’re not disappointed about not having the chance to go to Washington (DC). The process was worth it. In fact we knew about that before we applied. This is not an award just for us. It’s for the whole district and a tribute to the community,” Edwards said.
Other Lake Orion Schools who have been named a Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary School include Pine Tree Elementary, Lake Orion High School and Stadium Elementary.