U.S. honoring 2 Utah Blue Ribbon Schools

The U.S. Department of Education is honoring two Utah elementaries as Blue Ribbon Schools for closing achievement gaps and high scores on tests used for No Child Left Behind, the department announced Friday.

Granger and Castle Dale elementaries are among 250 nationwide honored. This is the first wave of awards; the second will come when more data is available next month, the department reported.

"All of these schools have students from all subgroups who've made impressive test gains or who scored in the top tier on state tests," U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said in a prepared statement. "They are outstanding examples of how all students can achieve to higher standards."

The awards come a week before the State Office of Education's report on how well Utah schools did on No Child Left Behind, which requires each group of students, regardless of race, income or disability, to do better on tests every year until all are on grade level.

"It makes the teachers, the students, the community, glow with pride that there's such achievement going on," Granger principal Wayne Williamson said. "It's a great honor, yes, to be recognized by the feds."

Both schools attribute successes to good teachers.

• Granger was honored for having at least 40 percent of disadvantaged students dramatically improving their test scores.

Williamson, new to the post, says he "inherited" the school's achievement from retired principal Nancy Sorensen. He would not go into specifics on new data, as the state isn't releasing information for another week.

But between 2004 and 2005, language arts scores for Pacific Islanders rose from 65 percent to 92 percent proficiency, for example. In math, all student groups performed in the 80 percent-proficiency range, except Asians, who scored as 98 percent proficient.

Statewide, 20-point to 30-point achievement gaps exist between some ethnic and socio-economic groups.

Granger receives Title I money from the federal government, set aside for high-poverty areas. Two-thirds of its 660 students are low-income, and half are learning English as a second language, Williamson said.

The school has 40 students in its preschool, which helps the school see early on where children need help in preparing for kindergarten. It has English as a second language teachers in every grade level, 20 aides (all considered "highly qualified" by the federal government), regularly tests student abilities, and splits them into small groups for individualized instruction.