3 Local Blue Ribbon School Winners Announced

We’d like to recognize and congratulate three schools in our area who recently received The Blue Ribbon Award:

• St Paul School (private – Catholic)
• Tyler Run (public – Olentangy)
• Buckeye Woods (public – South-Western City)

The Blue Ribbon Award is given to schools who excel in certain areas. The program was developed in 1982 to recognize and encourage academic excellence or progress in closing gaps among student subgroups. The award is given by the U.S. Department of Education. The coveted Blue Ribbon Award highlights the hard work of teachers, students and families who are willing to challenge themselves to accomplish more.

The National Blue Ribbon School Flag is given to those schools who win so that they can fly it proudly at the entrance to the building, letting everyone know that the teachers and students at the school are determined to master the learning process.

Both public and private schools are eligible to win the award. This important achievement is about more than just educational excellence. It also rewards and recognizes those schools that have closed the gap between student subgroups. For instance, in schools where students are from minorities or low-income homes, teachers work harder to help those students receive a quality education they can be proud of.

Let’s Look at the Schools More Closely

St Paul School – Westerville, OH (private – Catholic)

Formed in 1961, St Paul School has provided a strong educational foundation for multiple generations of families living in Westerville, OH. As a parish school they continue the tradition of an excellent Catholic education while incorporating contemporary pedagogy and modern technology. They strive to keep pace with current educational practices, but their core value of instilling the importance of a life of service is paramount. They challenge students to use God’s gifts to identify means by which they can become productive adults who recognize that service to others, especially the poor and needy, is a principal goal in life.

Tyler Run – Powell, OH (public – Olentangy)

Tyler Run Elementary School (TRES) is successful due to the sense of community among students, staff, parents, and the community. Tyler Run facilitates maximum learning for all students through engaging in many activities to build leadership skills and celebrate diversity.

The heart of their leadership is the Tyler Run Tiger’s “Paw”sitive Promise. In their community, the focus is on Teamwork, Respect, Effort, Spread Kindness (T.R.E.S). Students and staff are reminded daily of the promise through a catchy chant with hand motions. These four behaviors are taught and expected as TRES builds a positive community. Students, staff, and the community gather together to celebrate the efforts of students in a quarterly town hall meeting by recognizing students who have consistently demonstrated these behaviors.

Buckeye Woods –Grove City, OH (public – South-Western City)

Buckeye Wood Elementary is the largest elementary school in the South-Western City School District (SWCSD). As such, they face a variety of unique challenges. One of their most pressing challenges has been making certain that each and every student’s unique social-emotional and academic needs are met. The SWCSD provides high quality curriculum resources and professional development. Buckeye Woods teachers use these resources and training, along with knowledge of their students’ strengths and needs, to make skillful instructional decisions. Formative assessments enable teachers to use data-driven decision making to the fullest advantage. Teachers customize and target instruction for all students and utilize an excellent support staff to provide interventions, as needed, to supplement and enrich classroom instruction.

We Support our Schools!

The Columbus Team supports efforts like this in our community because we know it makes our world a better place to live when children can get a great education. We understand that homeowners want to choose their school districts and we can direct them to the information they need.

If you aren’t sure which district is best for your family, you can review the “School Report Cards” produced by the State of Ohio. You can compare all school districts including Gahanna, Dublin, Worthington, Olentangy, and others to find the one that fits your needs.

The Columbus Team has compiled information on the parochial, private, alternative, and public schools in the Columbus area as well, and we would be happy to pass that on to you!

Information on Columbus colleges and universities is also available. We’re here to help home buyers and home sellers in any way we can.