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Martyr Messenger
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the Martyr Messenger
Friday,
March 5,
2010
ITBS
Information for parents
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St. Stephen the Martyr
School: Blue Ribbon School 2008
What does it take to be
a blue ribbon school?
This past Tuesday,
September 9th,
United States Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings named St. Stephen
the Martyr School as one of the recipients of the 2008 Blue Ribbon School
award. We were one of six schools honored from the state of Nebraska.
This award is the highest honor and distinction possible for any school in
America. But, what makes it so?
This award is given to
schools that show one of two basic, but major, criteria: they have to be
considered academically superior (standardized test score results considered
in the top 10% of the nation) or they have to show student improvement (this
condition is based upon a student population of 40% from ‘disadvantaged’
back grounds.)
St. Stephen the Martyr
School is considered a Blue Ribbon School because our students do incredibly
well on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, our standardized assessment
instrument. Their results on the annual ITBS put them in the top 10% of all
students, and schools, in the United States.
This is no small feat.
However, what does it
really take to get to this point? I have my thoughts on this and want to
share them with you.
-First, our school is
relatively young, and it was through the strong commitment to Catholic
School education that was our genesis: our founding pastor, Rev. Gerald
Gonderinger and the founding parish families marked a Catholic school as a
priority for St. Stephen the Martyr Parish. Without that strong beginning,
we would not be here.
-Second, our school is
sustained. It is expensive to operate a Catholic school. Through the
support of our pastor Rev. James Tiegs, the generosity of our families and
parishioners, we are able to pay the salaries and expenses that it takes to
operate a school.
-Third, our school is
blessed to have a dedicated, caring, professional, talented and skilled
teaching staff. Their dedication, especially when they could be making more
money teaching in a public school, says so much about them!
-Fourth, our parents
are committed to a Catholic school education. They want that for their
children; it is a priority and it shows. They make the sacrifices that are
necessary; they give of their time, talent and treasure.
-Fifth, our students
work hard and succeed. Combined with the support of their parents and the
commitment of our teachers, they have a winning combination to truly
succeed. They have so much going for them.
-Sixth, the education
of the entire child, especially the dedication and devotion to our Roman
Catholic faith, is our mission. The adherence to this mission is vital to
our students’ success!
The procedure to become
a Blue Ribbon School involves a lengthy application process. Factors that
are considered on the application are: our curriculum, our process for
updating and reviewing our curriculum, our dedication to the continuous
improvement process (where you are constantly evaluating ways to improve
your programs), the various uses of assessment, exposing our students to a
World Language (Spanish), professional development of our staff, the methods
of instruction that we use and how we consider all types of learners. We
are school that is a blend of tried and true methods of instruction while
also being progressive and creative. I pride our teachers on knowing what
works and building off of that.
Being an effective and
successful school is based upon how our students perform. They are the ones
that speak for our school. Their results on various assessments and their
performance on standardized testing compare them to others and also to their
individual growth. This year alone we had 50 of our seventh graders (our
highest number ever) invited to participate in the Duke University Talent
Identification Program (T.I.P). What this means is they scored at the
95%ile OR above on certain test areas of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.
They have been invited now to take the ACT or SAT with high school juniors
or seniors. Last year we had the highest number of scholarship awardees to
our local Catholic High Schools-this was based upon the students’
performance on the high school admission tests.
Yes, we are an
elementary school, and we are giving our students a solid foundation of
skills necessary to be sound, faith-filled citizens of our world.
One of the factors in
submitting the application is this: how many times has your school filed
for the Blue Ribbon School honor? They want that noted on the application.
This was the first time that St. Stephen the Martyr School has applied!
St. Stephen the Martyr
parish will be celebrating its 20th
anniversary this year. What a tremendous honor it is to have our school
recognized nationally on this anniversary! We opened our doors with 173
students in 1992 and we currently have 903 students enrolled in September of
2008.
Since the inception of
the Blue Ribbon School program in 1982, less than 4% of all schools
(elementary, middle and high school) in the United States have been
honored. We are part of a very select group.
I want to thank all of
our parents. Without you, none of this would be possible. Your sacrifices
and faith in us is vital. Catholic school education is a choice and we are
so pleased you have chosen St. Stephen the Martyr School. May our good Lord
always bless you!!!
I want to thank the
teachers for their hard work and efforts. They give and sacrifice and
commit to our students and families.
I want to thank all of
our students; past graduates and those presently enrolled. I am very proud
of them.
I want to thank Fr. Jim
and the various parish committees; parish council, board of education,
finance board, etc. that give of their time and expertise in making the
decisions that put our school at the forefront and make it the priority that
it is.
I want to thank Mrs.
Mary Ann Maier who assisted me in writing, proofing and filing the Blue
Ribbon School application. Numerous hours were spent last November writing,
re-writing and editing the document. (On an aside: once we filed the
application with CAPE-the Council for American Private Education-we were
informed that we had the only perfect, error-free submission!). |
Fax: (402) 896-1990