Memorial Elementary was recently announced as a 2015 recipient of the National Blue Ribbon Award for Exemplary HIgh Achievement. This award is an honor for the school and the corporation. We are proud to be selected. Since the announcement, many people have asked, “How did Memorial Elementary earn this award?” Memorial was nominated for this award because the students have shown overall and consistent academic excellence. It is without a doubt that Memorial Elementary is a very deserving school for this award, and it needs to be said that this type of high achievement is the result of many factors; including a dedicated teaching staff knowledgeable about teaching and learning, hard-working students with a desire to succeed, and parents who promote high student expectations and value education.
The Memorial parents are an important key to student success and the students and staff owe a big thanks to them for all the support they provide. They provide the resources and structure to support, extend, and enhance the learning that takes place in the classroom. There is hardly a school day that Memorial parents are not at school providing enriching activities and volunteering in classrooms. Parents volunteer to teach art appreciation lessons through the Brush with the Masters program, they volunteer to teach Junior Achievement lessons that support the social studies curriculum, and they help prepare activities and materials for Red Ribbon and T.V. Turn-off Week. They also volunteer their time to help with reading groups and centers, technology projects, landscaping, copy work, library work and sometimes just pitching in when the school needs an extra hand. This correlates with the many research studies that have proven that student achievement is connected to parental involvement.
One of the most important things that Memorial parents do is entrust their children to dedicated, hard-working people, which includes teachers, instructional assistants, custodians, kitchen and office staff. The Memorial faculty is dedicated and spends hours, in addition to the school day, planning engaging and effective lessons, analyzing student performance and assessment results, finding additional resources that students may need, and communicating with parents. With support from the central office and district personnel, all staff members work collaboratively with a shared value of high expectations for all students.
Quite possibly the most important factor to earning the National Blue Ribbon Award is the hard work of the Memorial students. The students at Memorial come to school eager to learn each day taking pride in their work. WIth the support of parents, guardians, and staff they put forth great effort and show their HEARTS (Honesty, Effort, Respect, Attitude, and Teamwork). “Vikings with HEART” is the essence of the Memorial community which might be the best reason for our Exemplary High Achievement and the 2015 National Blue Ribbon Award.