By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Coosa Elementary School (CES) on Lady’s Island has been recognized as a 2023 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education according to a release.
The announcement was made on Tuesday, Sept. 19, recognizing the 353 elementary, middle and high schools across the country who are receiving the award.
Coosa is one of five in the state of South Carolina who received the award this year.
“We are honored to be recognized nationally for this prestigious award,” Coosa Principal Melissa Pender said. “This award is reflective of the dedication put forth by all stakeholders – our faculty, staff, students, parents and community members.”
National Blue Ribbon Schools serve as models of effective and innovative school practices and are among the state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
The National Blue Ribbon award is a highly selective award that recognizes schools’ overall academic performance and progress in closing achievement gaps and to qualify public schools are nominated by their state superintendent and must meet eligibility requirements.
The process from nomination to award typically takes about a year.
If a school meets the eligibility requirements, they are invited by the U.S. Department of Education to apply for the award.
School applications are then screened for completeness, quality, accuracy and eligibility before being provided with feedback and a chance to modify their application before the final submission.
The schools must then be certified by the state superintendent based on the school’s most current performance on state assessments in order to receive the National Blue Ribbon School award.
“This is such an incredible distinction and you have made us so proud,” State Superintendent Ellen Weaver said of Coosa’s award. “Thank you for leading the way for South Carolina and really the entire country.”
The other S.C. schools that were named are Ben Lippen School (private school) in Columbia, Sterling School (Greenville County Schools) in Greenville, Christ Our King-Stella Maris School (The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston) in Mount Pleasant and Wren Elementary School (Anderson School District 1) in Piedmont.
“The honorees for our 2023 National Blue Ribbon Schools Award have set a national example for what it means to Raise the Bar in education,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a release. “The leaders educators and staff at our National Blue Ribbon Schools continually inspire me with their dedication to fostering academic excellence and building positive school cultures that support students of all background to thrive academically, socially and emotionally.”
This year marks 40 years since the inception of the program, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Education, and in that time more than 9,700 school shave received this award.
“This is a huge honor, not only for Coosa Elementary but for our entire school district,” Beaufort County School District (BCSD) Superintendent Frank Rodriguez said. “It recognizes on a national level the strong focus on data driven initiatives at Coosa, and it’s a testament to the leadership of Principal Pender as she embodies collaboration and engagement, achieving increased collective outcomes for the students, families and community she serves.”
Once a school receives the award it remains a National Blue Ribbon School and that status does not expire.
This award is not the first recognition that Coosa has received this year.
Coosa’s assistant principal, Renee Roberts, was also recognized this year as the Elementary Assistant Principal of the Year and teacher April Bryant, a 5th grade teacher at Coosa was named as finalist for the 2023-2024 District Teacher of the Year.
Delayna Earley lives in Beaufort with her husband, two children and Jack Russell. She formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She joined The Island News in 2022. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
