Canajoharie Middle School named "Blue Ribbon School" by U.S. Education Department

District Superintendent Richard Rose uses Middle School public address system to inform students and faculty that the school has been named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Dept. of Education.

On September 23, Orysia Dmytrenko, Regional Representative for the U.S. Department of Education, personally called Middle School principal Rod Strait to announce that Canajoharie Middle School has been selected as a national "Blue Ribbon School."

"This is an incredible honor," said Canajoharie District Superintendent Richard Rose. "This is not an award you chase; you must earn this. Only 295 schools out of over 100,000 nationwide received this award. Of those, only nine are in New York!"

The No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools program recognizes schools that make significant progress in closing the achievement gap or whose students achieve at very high levels. Public schools are selected based on one of two criteria:

• Schools with at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that dramatically improve student performance on state tests.

• Schools whose students, regardless of background, achieve in the top 10 percent of their state on state tests.

"The achievement gap is closing and that is great news for every student," U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said. "These Blue Ribbon Schools are an example of what teachers and students can achieve. For the first time, we are insisting on results and accountability in return for our federal investment in education. In the three-plus years since No Child Left Behind was signed into law, we've learned a new equation: 'Accountability plus high expectations plus resources equals results.'"

Ms. Dmytrenko will present the award in a special ceremony at the Middle School in early October. School representatives will travel to Washington, D.C. on November 10-11 where they will receive a special plaque and a flag recognizing the designation.