Big celebration at St. Joe’s

Students at St. Joseph’s School in Downingtown celebrate after the school earned the Blue Ribbon honor.

DOWNINGTOWN » A day after learning that their school was named a National Blue Ribbon School, students and school officials held a celebration.

St. Joseph’s School of Downingtown, St. Maximilian Kolbe in West Chester, West Chester East High School and SS. Simon and Jude Parish in West Chester, were was named a 2017 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and recognized by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. The four Chester County schools are among the 342 schools nationwide to earn the distinction. Of those, only 50 nonpublic schools received this honor.

“National Blue Ribbon Schools are active demonstrations of preparing every child for a bright future,” DeVos said.

St. Joseph’s School in Downingtown received the Nation Blue Ribbon award for its first time. The fifth through eighth grade students watched a video announcing the news that included photographs of students at each of the schools that received a blue ribbon honor. They cheered when their school photograph appeared.

“They got so excited when I said it out loud,” Sister Catherine Irene Masino, IHM Principal of St. Joseph School said with a smile.

The Catholic school students officially celebrated the news on Friday during a pep rally. Masino said the National Blue Ribbon School award affirms the hard work and dedication of St. Joseph School’s teachers and staff, as well as the commitment by students to their education.

“This great honor validates the solid teaching and learning that occurs daily at St. Joseph School,” Masino said, “and serves as a testament to the support of the parish and school community to make St. Joseph School an innovative, safe and welcoming learning environment.”

All schools are honored 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 subgroups and all students over the past five years.

SUBMITTED PHOTO St. Joseph’s School students and staff celebrated on Friday after the school in Downingtown received the National Blue Ribbon honor from the US Department of Education.

SUBMITTED PHOTO St. Joseph’s School students and staff celebrated on Friday after the school in Downingtown received the National Blue Ribbon honor from the US Department of Education.