Garwood Elementary receives national kudos
DEVIN WEEKS/Press file Garwood Elementary students Landree Simon, left, and Jersi Fitting peer into a field microscope to get a better look at aquatic invertebrates at a water quality station during a Farm to Table learning experience in May 2018 at the Kootenai County fairgrounds.
Garwood Elementary in the Lakeland Joint School District was officially recognized this week as one of two Idaho schools to be named a National Blue Ribbon School.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made the announcement Monday.
Garwood Elementary was nominated for the Blue Ribbon designation in December as an Exemplary High Performing School. Lincoln Elementary in southeast Idaho’s Madison School District is the other school to receive the designation.
“I am very proud of the work Garwood Elementary staff does every day to focus on the growth of each and every individual student in their school,” said Lakeland Superintendent Becky Meyer.
“This attention to the uniqueness of each student is what gives Garwood the family feel. Garwood staff, students and parents are well deserving of this prestigious honor.”
Garwood Elementary outperformed 88.6 percent of other Idaho schools in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding proficiency in English language arts and mathematics in 2017. Garwood improved its mathematics proficiency rate from 48.7 percent in 2015 to 62.2 percent in 2017, with particularly strong improvement in the performance of students with disabilities and minority students.
“I’m pleased to celebrate with you as your school is named a National Blue Ribbon School,” DeVos said in a video message to the honorees. “We recognize and honor your important work in preparing students for successful careers and meaningful lives. Congratulations on your students’ accomplishments and for your extraordinary commitment to meeting their unique needs.”
Garwood Elementary teachers “model both traditional and ‘outside of the box’ thinking and provide students opportunities to experience and develop 21st century skills through project-based self-discovery as well as inquiry and STEM-focused learning,” according to its nomination materials. Nearly half — 44 percent — of its students are identified as economically disadvantaged.
Just one other Kootenai County School has been named a Blue Ribbon School since the program’s inception in 1982. Ponderosa Elementary in the Post Falls School District earned the recognition in 2011.
On Nov. 7 and 8, DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education will celebrate with all honorees at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.
“I’m thrilled that these two exemplary Idaho schools have received the national recognition they deserve,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra said, in a news release from the Idaho Department of Education. “These schools provide a positive culture in which students make great gains in the skills they need to succeed.”