RIDGEFIELD — South Ridge Elementary School in the Ridgefield School District has been selected for the 2017-18 National Title I, Part A Distinguished School Award. The school district learned of the news recently from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).
South Ridge earned the national designation for placing high on the list of U.S. schools for demonstrating a wide array of strengths, including team approaches to teaching and learning, focused professional development opportunities for staff, individualized and multi-tiered systems of approach for student success, and strong partnerships between the school, parents, and the community.
In addition, it earned recognition in the state of Washington as a Distinguished School for its Title I, Part A program for its exceptional student performance in English Language Arts in Smarter Balanced Assessments based on student growth percentiles (SGP) and state average scores for two or more years.
According to OSPI’s Washington State Report Card, the percentage of third-grade students at South Ridge meeting standard in Smarter Balanced testing in English Language Arts exceeded the state average in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 by 22 percentage points or more.
“The South Ridge staff works extremely hard to support all students,” said Todd Graves, South Ridge Elementary School principal. “As we pursue our goal of becoming the state’s premier district, I would like to thank the entire roadrunner community for a job well done! Go Roadrunners!”
“The award reflects South Ridge’s unwavering commitment to do whatever it takes to help its students excel,” said Tiffany Gould, Ridgefield School District’s Federal Programs director. “South Ridge maintained exceptional student performance even through the recent rapid enrollment growth it has experienced.”
Gould also attributed the school’s success to the strong partnerships that teachers and staff have with parents and the community.
Since 1996, The National Title I, Part A Association has been selecting examples of superior Title I, Part A schools from each state for recognition through the National Title I, Part A Distinguished School Program. In addition, each state recognizes individual Title I, Part A programs based on a combination of student academic success and creative and innovative programs that contribute to their success.
“I am proud of the hard work and dedication demonstrated by the South Ridge staff and students and am pleased that they are being recognized for their efforts in earning this exceptional national designation for their school,’’ said Ridgefield Superintendent Nathan McCann.”
The school will receive a $10,000 award for the national recognition and $5,000 for its statewide recognition. A team representing the school and school district will be recognized at the 2018 National Title I Conference in Philadelphia in February.
Information provided by Ridgefield School District.
