From Harford County Public Schools:
Harford County Public Schools’ Ring Factory Elementary School has been named one of six Maryland public elementary schools as a State Blue Ribbon School of Excellence for 2012! To celebrate their achievement, Ring Factory hosted a celebration assembly on March 23, 2012 complete with guest speakers, musical performances and a flash mob!
Excited students packed into the auditorium to receive congratulations from special guest speakers including Interim State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bernard J. Sadusky, HCPS Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert M. Tomback, HCPS Board of Education President Dr. Leonard D. Wheeler, and the Director of the Maryland Blue Ribbon School Program Dr. Darla F. Strouse.
In addition to guest speakers, the fourth and fifth grade gave choir performances along with a special performance by the school’s steel drum group.
The assembly ended with a student flash mob and the unveiling of the schools Blue Ribbon of Excellence banner.
Ring Factory Elementary was also honored at a reception and dinner held at the Governor Calvert House on March 19, 2012 that recognized all six of the 2012 Maryland Blue Ribbon schools.
The Blue Ribbon Schools program is a state and national program that recognizes and honors schools that exhibit high performance and/or significant improvement in reading and mathematics achievement as measured by state assessments. Schools must meet rigorous standards that were developed by the Maryland State Department of Education and the U.S. department of education. Selected schools are either very high achievers, scoring in the top ten percent or above in reading and mathematics, or economically disadvantaged schools that are achieving in the top 40% or higher and are dramatically closing achievement gaps in reading and mathematics. Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools go on to compete for national blue ribbon awards which are announced by the U.S. department of education in September of each year.
Ring Factory, a high-achieving school, excels with more than 98 percent of its students proficient and above in math and 98 percent proficient and above in reading. Ring Factory is a school where teachers care about their students and are dedicated to moving them to higher levels of learning. The school has been designated a Maryland Physical Education Demonstration School for 2011-13 by the Maryland Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance. It is a recipient of the 2008 Maryland Character Education School of the Year Award. Proud of its high family involvement, Ring Factory is also grateful for the numerous corporate partnerships that benefit the school each year. It is an established Professional Development School (PDS) with Towson University. Students are consistently recognized for their volunteer and charity work in the community.
The school family is proud of its award-winning teachers, including 2011 HCPS Teacher of the Year finalist Karen McNeely; and 2000 HCPS Teacher of the Year winner Donna Zavacky. The school’s staff is highly qualified with most of its teachers holding advanced degrees. Ring Factory was the first elementary school in HCPS to have a Steel Drum Group. The Steel Drum Group and Fox Choir have received numerous musical accolades and awards. Ring Factory takes pride in its wide assortment of teacher and parent-led enrichment clubs. After winning on the local and state levels, the school’s Destination Imagination (DI) team competed at the global competition in 2011.
Ring Factory Elementary is the first elementary Maryland Blue Ribbon School since Hickory Elementary earned the Maryland and national title in 2008, following Jarrettsville Elementary, which received the Maryland designation in 1992. Other HCPS Blue Ribbon Schools have been Joppatowne High – Maryland – 2000; North Harford Middle – Maryland and National – 1996; Havre de Grace High – Maryland and National – 1990.
Didn’t Bel Air Middle win this in the past as well?