There are a total of 132,000 schools across the nation eligible for this award. This year, over 413 schools were eligible for nomination. A panel reviewed the applications and ultimately selected 254 public and 50 private schools for this distinction. Sprague was one of only five Massachusetts elementary schools to receive this distinction for 2010. Schools are originally nominated by a state's department of education in one of two categories: "high-performing achievement" and/or "improvement" on state exams. Sprague was originally nominated for "high achievement". An extensive application process was completed. Student and learning data were reviewed as well as the curriculum and instructional procedures.

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Blue Ribbon Recognition Events at Sprague

Wednesday, November 17, 2010, Sprague officially recognized its selection as a Blue Ribbon School. A school wide picture was taken with all the students and staff with a big blue ribbon. Students wrote on a blue piece of paper with the help of a sentence starter, "I like Sprague because...” A few examples of these were read over the loud speaker during morning announcements. Parents then took the paper strips and made them into chains which were formed into artistic “Blue Ribbons” that were hung around the school in various spots as a symbol of teamwork and HEART Values. Supplied and hosted by the PTO, students received a Blue Ribbon Bookmark and staff enjoyed a “Blue Ribbon BBQ” lunch.

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Blue Ribbon Ceremony in Washington, DC

In November, there was a two day reception in Washington D.C. honoring those schools that received the Blue Ribbon School Recognition. Attending was Sprague Special Educator Jamie Morrison, who gave the following account:

Being able to attend an event such as the Blue Ribbon Ceremony in Washington D.C. and represent my school and my school district is an honor I will not soon forget. It was exciting and rewarding to sit in a room with 313 other school districts from around the country and to be celebrated for doing what educators do on a daily basis.

There were several highlights in the two-day ceremony. One that stands out in my mind was the panel of all the heads of the national principal associations (elementary, middle and high school). Each gave a brief presentation, and then took questions. Each gave such an eloquent, thoughtful, inspirational presentation that focused on the message of "pay it forward", meaning that all of the schools, with all of the work that earned them the right to sit in that ballroom and accept a Blue Ribbon Award, are charged with sharing with other colleagues and schools what they are doing every day to be a high performing school.

Other highlights of the ceremony included hearing from Melody Barnes, the President's Domestic Policy Advisor, who shared the President's commitment to education. The keynote speaker was the Secretary of Education, who did an amazing job of championing the educators in the room, by asking each teacher and then principal to stand up and be applauded. He spoke of the President's agenda towards education with such initiatives as increasing access to early childhood education, and reauthorizing No Child Left Behind, with an emphasis on fixing its flaws and changing it from being too punitive to rewarding excellence.

I think my favorite speaker of all, though, was the 2010 National Teacher of the Year: Ms. Sarah Brown Wessling from Iowa, a high school English teacher. She spoke so eloquently about how one of the most important and critical ways to help a child to succeed is to make a connection with that child. She reminded me how important that connection is and how with that connection many doors open, not only for the student, but for the teacher as well.

I did have time as well to see some sights in Washington; one exciting event was an evening bus tour of the city organized by the Blue Ribbon ceremony. It was overwhelming to stand before Lincoln's statue at the Lincoln Memorial, as he is one of my own personal heroes. The Word War II Memorial, as well as the Vietnam Memorial, also stand out in my mind.

It was a tremendous honor and privilege to represent Sprague, a school that I always thought of as a high performing school. Although I have heard some say that Sprague doesn't need such an award because we are already part of a strong school system, I would argue that it is still nice to be recognized for doing great work. We were recognized not only for our MCAS scores, but also for our RTI (response to intervention) model as well as our leaders, our teachers and our parents' commitment to our students; which make us not only a National Blue Ribbon School, but also a great school community to be a part of.

I would like to end with the words from a plaque I discovered while I was in Washington. Its words stuck with me, especially being at the Blue Ribbon Ceremony, and in the setting of Washington D.C. It is part of a song written by Amy Dixon-Kolar: