|
Jansen Avenue Elementary School Selected to Receive
National Honor
 U.S. Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings
announced on September 9 that the Greater Johnstown School
District’s Jansen Avenue Elementary School has been named a 2008
No child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon School. Only 320 schools
from 45 states are receiving the honor, which recognizes
public and private K-12 schools that either score in the
top 10 percent on state assessments, or make dramatic
gains in student performance on state assessments when at
least 40 percent of the students are from disadvantaged
backgrounds. Jansen Avenue has been selected as a school
in the top 10 percent of New York State with at least 40
percent of its students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
A ceremony will take place in Washington, D.C. October
20-21, where representatives appearing on behalf of the
Greater Johnstown School District will be awarded a plaque
and a flag signifying Jansen Avenue’s NCLB-Blue Ribbon
School status. It is anticipated that former Jansen Ave.
Principal Patricia Sotero, described by Superintendent
Katherine
Sullivan as “a driving force in the school’s selection,”
will be dispatched together with fourth grade teacher James Westman to accept the honor. Sotero served as
principal at Jansen Avenue for three years, leaving the
district at the end of the 2007-08 school year to accept a
similar position in the Horseheads Central School District
near her hometown of Ithaca.
If the district is able to send a third representative,
Colleen Lester, appointed as Jansen’s principal in July,
will be offered the opportunity to attend as well. In a
recent notification letter to parents and guardians,
Lester says of the award “This
distinction is an acknowledgement of the hard work of the
Jansen Avenue Elementary School community; including
district administration, teachers, staff and parents.
It is a credit to our families who support our educational
and school programs and continues to work with their
children to encourage them to achieve at the highest
levels.”
Read Principal Lester’s Letter to Parents/Guardians
Visit the U.S. Department of Education NCLB-BRS Web Page
|
