Garden City Elementary receives national honor

Garden City Elementary School,, part of the Glasscock County Independent School District, is one of 31 Texas schools named a “National Blue Ribbon School” for 2022.

According to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Education, the small school joins four schools from Dallas, four from Houston, one from Midland, and 23 others from around the state in receiving the award, which was issued to just 297 schools nationwide this year.

Glasscock County ISD Super it tendent Ben Eubanks said the district is very proud to receive the award.

“It recognizes the top-achieving schools in the nation,” he said. “It recognizes just overall achievements of a school Test scores are one of the criteria. Man, it’s an honor to be put in there as one of the top schools in the nation. Garden City kind of established ourselves as one of the top schools in the state, and this is kind of putting us in there as one of the premier schools in the nation.”

“I applaud all the honorees for the 2022 National Blue Ribbon Schools Award for creating vibrant, welcoming, and affirming school communities where students can learn, grow, reach their potential, and achieve their dreams,” said U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in the press release. “As our country continues to recover from the pandemic, we know that our future will only be as strong as the education we provide to all of our children. Blue Ribbon Schools have gone above and beyond to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. These schools show what is possible to make an enduring, positive difference in students’ lives.”

With its 39th cohort, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed approximately 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools. The National Blue Ribbon School award affirms and validates the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in striving for – and attaining – exemplary achievement.

National Blue Ribbon Schools serve as models of effective school practices for state and district educators and other schools throughout the nation. A National Blue Ribbon School flag gracing a school’s entryway or on a flagpole is a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning.

The Department recognizes all schools in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:

• Exemplary High-performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.

• Exemplary Achievement Gap-closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.

Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year. The Department invites nominations for the National Blue Ribbon Schools award from the top education official in all states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education. Private schools are nominated by the Council for American Private Education.