Ellicott City, Frederick schools earn national Blue Ribbon distinction

Two elementary Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore have been named Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.

Resurrection-St. Paul School in Ellicott City and St. John Regional Catholic School in Frederick were notified Sept. 15 of their selections. It is the first time since 1988-89 that two schools in the archdiocese were named Blue Ribbon institutions.

Only 50 private schools in the nation were chosen, while 264 public schools were named.

“Two in one year is a good one,” said Dr. Ronald J. Valenti, superintendent of Catholic schools. “That’s a biggie.”

St. John the Evangelist School in Severna Park was named a Blue Ribbon school in 2008, becoming the first in the archdiocese to earn the designation since Trinity School in Ellicott City in 1998-99.

“It’s noteworthy that when you get such recognition from the Department of Education, it’s from the federal government,” Dr. Valenti said. “There’s a very rigorous approach and protocol schools must go through to meet those demands. This is a national kind of assessment. To get that kind of recognition speaks well of what teachers and administrators do and what we do as system.”

St. John Regional serves seven parishes: Frederick’s St. John the Evangelist and St. Katharine Drexel; Buckeystown’s St. Joseph on Carrollton Manor; Ijamsville’s St. Ignatius of Loyola; Libertytown’s St. Peter the Apostle ; Middletown’s Holy Family and Walkersville’s St. Timothy.

The school also partners with the parish family of St. Mary, Petersville/St. Francis of Assisi, Brunswick and serves Fort Detrick Catholic Community as well.

“It’s really a community effort,” said Karen Smith, St. John Regional’s principal. “We want our students to excel and we want the best for all our students.”

The other Blue Ribbon winner is the parish school of two Ellicott City parishes, Church of the Resurrection and St. Paul.

“That’s the most beautiful thing about this place,” said Karen Murphy, Resurrection-St. Paul’s principal. “The pastors and the parishes have been very supportive.”

Smith and Murphy, close friends, talked regularly during the Blue Ribbon process. Each school began the application process a year ago, encouraged to pursue the honor after Severna Park’s St. John the Evangelist earned the designation.

“I thought we could be a Blue Ribbon School,” said Smith, who became principal of the Frederick school in 2005. “I always thought we had that potential.”

To be nominated, a private school’s students must achieve in the top 10 percent of the nation on “nationally-normed” tests. To move forward in the process, The Council for American Private Education must nominate the schools, which must provide a thorough explanation of their programs.

Murphy, a board member at St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park, saw similar strengths at Resurrection-St. Paul. She said that surrounding competition from the Howard County Public School System forces Resurrection-St. Paul to hone its strengths.

Like St. John Regional, Catholic identity is at the core of the curriculum.

“We know we have to provide an excellent education,” Murphy said. “The children grow in their faith here.”

Resurrection-St. Paul has 516 students this fall, up from last year’s 466. St. John Regional has an enrollment of 570.

An awards luncheon for the Blue Ribbon Schools will be held Nov. 3 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Both schools plan celebrations throughout the year.

“Our Catholic schools succeed in providing an academically-excellent education to the children of our Archdiocese because of the dedicated teachers, hard-working students, and because of the parents and grandparents who make heroic sacrifices on behalf of their children,” Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien said. “This recognition is an affirmation of their efforts and is an attainable goal for many of our Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.”

“These Blue Ribbon Schools have shown that all children can learn with the appropriate supports,” said Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education in a statement.

“They are producing outstanding results for their students. They are places where improved teaching and learning benefits every student, and where students are challenged to meet high expectations with the active support of teachers, parents and the community.”

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