Upstate schools win Blue Ribbons

By April M. Silvaggio  

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 8:54 a.m. (0)

Greenville Technical Charter High and Powdersville Elementary are among five South Carolina schools chosen as winners of the 2010 National Blue Ribbon Schools Awards, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced this morning.

The National Blue Ribbon exemplifies excellence, and winners are chosen due to their academic excellence or because they have demonstrated dramatic gains in student achievement, officials said.

“We are just ecstatic,” said Fred Crawford, principal of Greenville Technical Charter High. “It validates the hard work of our teachers, staff and students. We couldn’t be prouder this morning. Over the past two years, to the point of now having our two sister schools, I believe this underscores the impact that the early college model is bringing to this community.”

Powdersville Elementary Principal Debbie Gills said she was thrilled simply that her school was chosen as one of South Carolina’s nominees.

“But to have won and be recognized as a National Blue Ribbon school is incredible,” she said. “Our school is blessed to have such hard working and dedicated teachers, wonderfully supportive parents and the best students in the world.”

Along with Greenville Technical Charter High and Powdersville Elementary in Anderson School District One, other public school winners in the state include Howe Hall Arts Infused Magnet School in Berkeley County, Ballentine Elementary School in Lexington/Richland District Five and Charles Pinckney Elementary School in Charleston County.

Wayne Fowler, Anderson School District One Superintendent, said the award underscores the commitment to excellence at Powdersville Elementary.

“The faculty and staff are dedicated to providing a quality education for all their students,” he said. “We are pleased to see this dedicated group of professionals being recognized for student achievement.”

Jim Rex, state superintendent of education, said the recognition for both schools signifies the success of both schools in making it possible for every student to thrive.

“It shows that they have outstanding administrators, creative teachers and dedicated staff members,” Rex said.

Greenville Technical Charter High has an enrollment of 420 students in grades 9 through 12, and is designed to provide a seamless transition from high school to higher education and the world of work.

It offers an academically rigorous four years based on Mastery Learning.

Many students who attend the school earn enough credits to enter college as sophomores after their high school graduation.

The school’s ability to offer individualized academic plans and academic assistance creates an environment for success.

Classrooms are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and resources, and parents are expected to spend a minimum of one hour each week volunteering their time with the school. Students are asked to contribute 50 hours of community service each year, and a capstone senior project is part of the graduation plan.

Greenville Tech Charter High has earned Excellent report card ratings for six consecutive years and Palmetto Gold Awards for the past five years. It has been designated as one of the top 15 charter schools in the nation by the U.S. Department of Education, and in 2007 was honored as a National Charter School of the Year by the Center for Education Reform.

It was also honored in 2009 with a bronze award from US News & World Report as one of America’s Best Public Schools.

Powdersville Elementary, located in one of the fastest growing areas of the Upstate, opened its doors in 2002.

It serves students in third through fifth grade.

Over the past eight years, the student population has grown 75 percent to 577, and the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunch has nearly tripled, climbing from 17 percent to more than 45 percent.

The school has been recognized by the Palmetto Gold and Silver Awards five times for high student achievement and for closing achievement gaps.

One of the driving forces behind the school’s success is the priority placed on involving parents and the community in education, officials said. Community members also support the school as volunteers and financially.

“Powdersville Elementary is an outstanding example of how teacher excellence paired with high expectations and parental involvement has worked to produce high student achievement,” said Jane Harrison, director of elementary education in Anderson School District One. “What makes Powdersville Elementary School unique is that they are focused on meeting the needs of each individual student. They are very deserving to be recognized as one of the top 300 schools in the nation.”

The recipients will be recognized during a November ceremony in Washington, D.C., where about 300 national winners will receive Blue Ribbon School flags and engraved plaques as symbols of their success.

The National Blue Ribbon program was modified in 2001 to make selection criteria consistent with the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Under the new standards, the Department of Education determines how many nominees each state can submit.

South Carolina was allowed to nominate five schools that met one of two criteria: Schools that had at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds and that show dramatic improvements in test scores to high levels in English Language Arts and mathematics and schools, regardless of their demographics, that achieve in the top 10 percent of schools in the state.

Powdersville Elementary, as well as the Howe Hall Arts Infused Magnet School, met the first criterion, while Greenville Technical Charter High and the other winners met the second.

All five state winners not only met the basic criteria, but also scored higher against those criteria than other South Carolina schools.

Nominees had to have made Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind for the past three years in order to be eligible for recognition.

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