Dixie proclaimed a Blue Ribbon School
Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, September 9, 2010
Dixie Elementary Magnet School is the among the country’s Blue Ribbon Schools for 2010.
The award honors schools whose students achieve at very high levels or have made significant progress and helped close gaps in achievement, especially among disadvantaged and minority students. Each year since 1982, the U.S. Department of Education has sought out schools where students attain and maintain high academic goals, including those that beat the odds.
“The turning point was when we started to realize that every child who comes in the door is an opportunity,” said Loraye Jones, principal at Dixie from 2004 to 2009. “The teachers just kept pushing the kids to reach to higher levels.”
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the Blue Ribbon recipients Thursday. The schools – 254 public and 50 private – will be honored at an awards ceremony Nov. 15-16 in Washington, D.C. Dixie is among five winners in Kentucky.
“We offer so many things to so many different people. I’m so proud to be a part of this tradition of excellence,” said first-year principal Tara Isaacs.
One emphasis at Dixie is individualized instruction that accelerates a student’s growth.
“Dixie’s philosophy has always been about educating the whole child,” said Jones, now an elementary director in Fayette County Public Schools.
She also credited the staff’s flexibility in helping to transform the school.
“The credit has to go to Loraye for what she put in place,” said Barbara Albaugh, interim principal in 2009-2010. “When you set high expectations, it works.”
In FCPS, Veterans Park Elementary was a Blue Ribbon School in 2008. Before that, the district had not had a recipient since Southern Elementary in 1989. In the past 28 years, more than 6,000 schools across the nation have received this coveted award.
“Our nation has a responsibility to help all children realize their full potential,” Duncan said Thursday in Washington. “Schools honored with the Blue Ribbon Schools award are committed to achievement and to ensuring that students learn and succeed. Their work reflects the conviction that every child has promise and must receive a quality education.”