Momilani, Royal and Ewa Beach elementary named Blue Ribbon Schools
HONOLULU — Momilani Elementary, Royal Elementary, and Ewa Beach Elementary Schools were named Blue Ribbon Schools today by Frito-Lay of Hawaii and the Hawaii State Department of Education at the Hawaii Distinguished Schools awards held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort and Spa.
The three schools, chosen from among 13 public school nominees, will represent Hawaii in the 2010 National No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Two of the schools, Momilani and Royal, were previous recipients of this award for outstanding achievement.
Frito-Lay of Hawaii, sponsor of the Hawaii Distinguished Schools Program, awarded the three elementary schools with $3,000 each for their achievements this past school year.
The 2009 National Blue Ribbon Schools — Kapalama Elementary and Lanakila Elementary — were also recognized and presented with $1,000, in addition to the $3,000 they received upon selection as Hawaii’s representatives to the No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools Program last year. Both schools received the National Blue Ribbon designation along with 312 other schools from across the country at a Washington, D.C., ceremony held on Nov. 3. Since 1988, 56 Hawaii public schools have been nominated to the national level of the Blue Ribbon Schools Program, with 37 receiving National Blue Ribbon School honors.
The elementary and secondary schools that were named as Distinguished Schools and nominated for the Hawaii Blue Ribbon award included:
The Hawaii Distinguished Schools Program honors elementary and secondary schools that make significant progress in closing the achievement gap, or whose students achieve at the highest levels. These schools have shown dramatic improvement in test scores or are achieving in the top 10 percent of schools in the state in both reading and mathematics. At least one-third of the schools must have 40 percent or more of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Frito-Lay of Hawaii established the Hawaii’s Outstanding Public Schools Program in 1985, which evolved into the Hawaii Blue Ribbon Schools Program in 1988. It was renamed the Hawaii Distinguished Schools Program in 2003. The Hawaii Distinguished Schools Program is evaluated by a panel of judges on criteria based on academic accountability targets and acceptable growth in reading and mathematics as required by the No Child Left Behind Act.
