Representatives from 270 outstanding public and private elementary schools in 44 states and the District of Columbia were honored at a White House ceremony Friday, capping Secretary of Education William J . Bennett’s “Year of the Elementary School.”
Selected as exemplary in the department’s first national elementary-school recognition program, the schools were among some 800 nominated for the honor by chief state school officers and members of the Council for American Private Education.
Secretary Bennett called the award winners “as diverse as America itself’ and said their one common attribute was that “they’re good schools”
“They provide their young students with a solid foundation for later life,” the Secretary said. “They have helped their students develop a strong core of skills and knowledge, good values and habits, and an enthusiastic attitude toward learning.”
Though the public- and private-school recognition programs were conducted separately, with CAPE officials selecting the 60 private-school winners, department spokesmen said school effectiveness was gauged in each process through onsite visits, detailed application materials, and interviews with parents, teachers, and administrators.
“The awards were based primarily on how well they used resources at their disposal and how well they met the needs of their particular students,” department officials said in announcing the selections this summer. “There was special emphasis on student achievement in reading and mathematics, and on the school’s record of overcoming obstacles and sustaining progress.”
Public secondary schools have been honored in similar recognition programs for the past three years, and private secondary schools for the past two. Beginning with this year’s program, Mr. Bennett plans to recognize outstanding elementary and secondary schools on alternate years.
The schools honored Friday were: Alabama: Public: Cahabaca Heights Community School, Binningham; VaJley Elementary School, Pelham; Vestavia Hills Elementary School-West, Vestavia Hills.
Alaska: Public: Thk School, Thk. Arizona: Public: Booker T. Washington School, Mesa; Laguna Elementary School, Tucson; Page Elementary School, Page; Weinberg Elementary School, Chandler.
California: Public: Alamo Elementary School. Alamo; Amy Blanc Elementary School. Fairfield; Discovery Bay Elementary School. Byron; Fbrt Washington Elementary School, Fresno; Garden Gate Elementary School. Cupertino; Greenville Fundamental Elementary School. Santa Ana; Harbor View Elementary School. Corona del Mar; Lupm Hill Elementary School. Calabasas; Melvin Avenue School , Reseda; Mendocino Middle School, Mendocino; ONeill Elementary School. Mission Viejo; Pioneer Elementary School, Union City; Walter White School, Ceres; West Valley Elementary School. Sunnyvale; White Oak Elementary School. Westlake. Private: Pacific Union College Elementary School, Angwin; St. Anthony’s School, Fresno; St. DaVld’s Elementary School. Richmond
Colorado: Public: Douglass VaHey School, Colorado Springs. Connecticut: Public: Cider Mill School, Wilton. Private: St. Francis School, New Haven.
District of Columbia: Public: Bunker Hill School, Washington; Smothers Elementary School. Washington. Private: Sidwell Friends Lower School, Washington.
Florida: Public: Bayview Elementary School, Ft. Lauderdale; Caloosa Elementary School, Cape Coral; Dr. W.J. Creel Elementary School, Melbourne; Finegan Elementary School, Atlantic Beach; Hendricks Avenue Elementary School. Jacksonville; Jackson Heights Middle School. Oviedo; John N.C. Stockton School, Jacksonville; Kate Sullivan Elementary School, Tallahassee; Pine Trail Elementary School. Ormond Beach; Pinecrest Elementary School, Miami. Pnvate: Ascension Catholic, Melbourne; Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Greater Miami Hebrew Academy, Miami Beach; St. Rose of Lima, Miami Shores; The King’s Academy, West Palm Beach.
Georgia: Public; Burroughs-Molette Elementary School, Brunswick; Duluth Middle School, Duluth; Garden Hills School, Atlanta; Southside Elementary School. Milledgeville. Private: Christ the King, Atlanta; Hebrew Academy of Atlanta Inc., Atlanta.
Hawaii: PubliC: Manoa Elementary School, Honolulu; Nuuanu Elementary School. Honolulu. Private: Hanahauoli School, Honolulu.
Idaho: Public: Lincoln Elementary School. Caldwell; Pierce School. Pierce.
lllinois: Public: Everett School. Lake Forest: Fairview South School. Skokie; Garden Hills Elementary School, Champaign; Hadley Junior High School, Glen Ellyn ; John W. Gates Elementary School. Aurora; Kenneth E. Neubert Elementary School, Algonquin; La Grange Highlands Elementary School. La Grange; Laura B. Sprague School. Lincolnshire; Nob Hill School, Country Club Hills; Ravinia School Highland Park; Sheridan School. Lake Forest. Winston Churchill School, Homewood. Private.” Holy Cross School, Deerfield; St. Matthias. Chicago; St. Joan of Arc. Lisle.
Indiana: Public: College Wood Elementary School. Carmel; John F. Kennedy School, South Bend; Longfellow Elementary School. Muncie; Skiles Test Elementary School. Indianapolis; Southport Elementary School, Southport. Private.” Holy Cross Lutheran School, Fort Wayne; St. Mark Catholic School, Indianapolis; St. Paul Lutheran School, Fort Wayne; The Stanley Clark School. South Bend.
Iowa: Public: Cody Elementary School, Pleasant Valley; Greenwood Elementary School, Des Moines. Pnvate; St. Katherine’siSt. Mark’s School, Bettendorf.
Kansas: Public: ‘lbmahawk Elementary School, Olathe; Village Elementary School, Emporia. Private: St. Mary Queen of the Universe, Salina.
Kentucky: Public: Amett Elementary School, Erlanger; Clark Elementary School. Paducah; Crittenden County Elementary School, Marion; Goshen Elementary School, Goshen: Helmwood Heights Elementary School, Elizabethtown.
Louisiana: Public: Bissonet Plaza Elementary School, Metairie: M.R Weaver Elementary School, Natchitoches; Norbert Rillieux Elementary School, Waggaman; Upper Little Caillou School, Chauvin. Private: Our Lady of Fatima School, Lafayette; St. Michael Catholic School, Crowley; St. Martin’s Episcopal School, Metairie.
Maine: Public: Park Street School, Kennebunk.
Maryland: Public: College Gardens Elementary School, Rockville; Mt. Harmony Elementary School, Owings: Northfield Elementary School, Ellicott City. Private. St. Rita School, Baltimore; St. Elizabeth School, Rockville.
Massachusetts: Public: Claypit Hill School, Wayland; Hawlemont Regional School, Shelburne; Josiah Quincy School. Boston; Summer Street School, Lynnfield; Tucker School, Milton.
Michigan: Public: Ann J. Kellogg, Battle Creek; Doherty Elementary School. West Bloomfield; Longstreet Elementary School, Saginaw; Orchard Hills Elementary School, Novi; Parkwood-Upjohn School, Kalamazoo; Quarton Elementary School, Birmingham; Shay Elementary School, Harbor Springs; Sylvester Elementary School, Berrien Springs. Private: Dickinson Area Catholic School, Iron Mountain; Holland Christian Middle School. Holland; St. John Lutheran School, Rochester; St. Lorenz Lutheran School, Frankenmuth; SI. Mary Cathedral School, Gaylord.
Minnesota: Public: Pike Lake Elementary School, New Brighton; Poplar Bridge Elementary School, Bloomington. Private: Holy Family School, St. Louis Park.
Mississippi: Public: Hall’s Ferry Road Elementary School, Vicksburg; Marion Park Elementary School, Meridian; Northside Elementary School, Pearl.
Missouri: Public: Fairview Elementary School, Columbia; Highcroft Ridge School, Chesterfield; Jackson Park Elementary School, University City; John Ridgeway Elementary School, Columbia; Mason Ridge School, Creve Coeur; Meramec Elementary School, Clayton; Monett Elementary School. Monett; Thomas B. Chinn School, Kansas City. Private: Central Institute for the Deaf, St. Louis; Epstein Hebrew Academy, St. Louis; St. Monica, Creve Coeur.
Montana: Public: C.M. RUS8ell Elementary School, Missoula.
Nebraska: Private: St. Cecelia’s Cathedral Elementary, Omaha; St. John Lutheran School, Seward; St. Pius X/St. Leo I School, Omaha.
Nevada: Public: Stead Elementary School, Reno; Gardnerville Elementary School, Gardnerville. Private: St. Viator, I Las Vegas.
New Hamp hire: Public: Moultonborough Central School, Moultonborough; Stratham Memonal School, Stratham; Woodman Park School, Dover.
New Jersey: Private: St. Peter Elementary School, New Brunswick.
New Mexico: Public: Corrales Elementary School, Albuquerque; Longfellow Elementary School, Albuquerque.
New York; Public: Canandaigua Primary School. Canandaigua; Carrie E. Thmpkins Elementary School, Croton-on-Hudson; Central School, Larchmont: FUtures Academy #37, Buffalo; Harbor Hill School, Greenvale; Harrison Avenue School, Harrison; Houghton Academy (P.S. 69), Buffalo; Lake George Elementary School, Lake George; Lincoln Elementary School, Scotia; Marion Street Elementary School, Lynbrook, Park Early Childhood Center, Westbury; P.S. 189/ Bilingual School, Brooklyn; Ridge Street School, Rye Brook; Sacandaga Elementary School, Scotia; School #54 ECC, Buffalo; The Douglaston School (P.S. 98, Queens), Douglaston; Thomas K. Beecher School, Elmira; Weedsport Elementary School, Weedsport; West End School, Lynbrook; West Hertel Academy, Buffalo. Private: Our Lady of Lourdes, West Islip; St. Ignatius Loyola, New York City; Sts. Peter and Paul, Bronx; The Calhoun School, New York City.
North Carolina: Public: Brevard Elementary School, Brevard; Ira B. Jones Elementary School, Asheville; Park View Elementary School, Morresville; W.G. Pearson Elementary School, Durham.
North Dakota: Public: Crosby Elementary School, Crosby.
Ohio: Public: Barrington Elementary School, Upper Arlington; Bath Elementary School, Akron; Chambers Elementary School, East Cleveland; Edison Primary School, Dayton; Evamere Elementary School, Hudson; Forest Elementary School, North Olmstead; Francis Dunlavy Elementary School, Lebanon; Gibbs Elementary School, Canton; Lomond Elementary School, Shaker Heights; Olde Sawmill Elementary School, Dublin; Robert E. Lucas Intermediate School, Cincinnati; Roselawn Condon School, Cincinnati; Tremont Elementary School, Upper Arlington; Windermere Elementary School, Upper Arlington; Worthing· ton Hills School, Worthington; W.M. Sellman Middle School, Madeira. Private: St. Barbara School. Massillon; St. Agatha School, Columbus; St. Mary School. Cincinnati.
Oklahoma: Public: Carnegie School. Tulsa; Crosby Park Elementary School, Lawton; Jame.; L. Dennis Elementary School, Oklahoma City. Private: Holland Hall, Tulsa.
Oregon: Public: Bolton Middle School, West Linn: Corridor School, Creswell; Nyssa Elementary School, Nyssa; Riverdale School, Portland; Seven Oak Middle School, Lebanon.
Pennsylvania: Public: Buckingham Elementary School, Buckingham; Chatham Park School, Havertown; Franklin Elementary School, Sewickley; Mary C. Howse Elementary School. West Chester; Merion Elementary School, Merion; New Eagle Elementary School, Wayne; Penn Wynne School, Philadelphia; Scenic Hills Elementary School, Springfield; Sugartown Elementary School, Malvern. Private: Ancillae-Assumpta Academy, Wyncote; Benchmark School, Media; St. Bernadette School, Drexel Hill; The Miquon School, Miquon.
Rhode Island: Public: Narragansett Elementary School. Narragansett.
South Carolina: Public: Conder Elementary School, Columbia; Cowpens Elementary School, Cowpens; Joseph Keels Elementary School, Columbia.
Tennessee: Public: Dodson Elementary School, Hermitage; Eakin Elementary School, Nashville; Grahamwood School, Memphis; Ingleside School, Athens; Snow Hill Elementary School, Ooltewah; Thrasher Elementary School, Signal Mountain.
Texas: Public’” Crocket Elementary-IntermedIate School, El Paso; Hamilton Park Pacesetter School, Dallas; John S. Armstrong Elementary School. Dallas; Juan N. Seguin Elementary School, McAllen; Lozano Special Emphasis School, Corpus Christi; Pope Elementary School, Arlington; Rose Shaw Special Emphasi:; School, Corpus Christi; Rummel Creek Elementary School, Houston; T.H. Johnson Elementary School. Taylor: Wake Village School, Wake Village; Woodway Elementary School. Waco. Private: Akiba Academy of Dallas, Dallas; Immaculate Conception, Grand Prairie; Pines Montessori School, Kingwood; SI. Pariek School, Corpus Christi; St. Peter Prince of Apostles;, San Antonio. Utah: PublIC: Ahara Elementary School, Sandy; Hillcrest Elementary School. Logan. Private: Rowland Hall-St. Mark’ School, Salt Lake City.
Vermont: Public: Waterbury Elementary School, Waterbury.
Virginia: Public: David A. Dutrow Elementary School, Newport News; Falls Church Elementary School, Falls Church; Heritage Elementary School, Lynchburg; Oak Grove Elementary School, Roanoke; Oakridge Elementary School, Arlington; R.C. Longan Elementary School. Richmond.
Washington: Public: Blaine Middle School, Blaine; Emily Dickinson School, Redmond; John Campbell Elementary School, Selah; Lacamas Heights Elementary School, Camas; Lake Youngs Elementary School, Kent.
West Virginia: Public: Jennings Randolph Elementary School, Elkins; Johnson Elementary School, Bridgeport.
Wisconsin: Public: McFarland Elementary School, McFarland; Spring Road School, Neenah. Private: Elm Grove Lutheran School, Elm Grove: Northwest Lutheran School, Milwaukee.
