Brandenburg MS Latest GISD Campus to Earn Blue Ribbon Recognition
Article Date: September 18, 2009
GISD’s Classical Center at Brandenburg recently placed itself among the national elite in being named a 2009 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor given by the U.S. Department of Education.
 |
This is the middle school’s first year to claim the prestigious award which was given to only 316 schools nationwide and 26 in Texas. Blue Ribbon recognition is granted to public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior in their states or demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement.
The campus offers an emphasis on the classics to more than 1,100 middle school students and has an extensive fine arts program.
Brandenburg is GISD’s fourth campus to earn distinguished Blue Ribbon national honors in as many years. Routh Roach ES was selected in 2006, Walnut Glen ES in 2007 and Centerville ES in 2008.
Representatives from Brandenburg have been invited to next month’s national ceremony in Washington, D.C., where they will be formally presented with a plaque and flag signifying their Blue Ribbon School status.
To be eligible for the award, Brandenburg’s students met Adequate Yearly Progress levels in reading, language arts and mathematics. In meeting those lofty marks, the campus also attained a Texas Education Agency rating of “Exemplary” – the highest level awarded.
The U.S. Department of Education recognizes schools with at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that dramatically improve student performance in accordance with state assessment systems, and rewards schools scoring in the top-10 percent on state assessments.
The No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools award, one of the most prestigious education awards in the country, distinguishes and honors schools for helping students achieve at very high levels and for making significant progress in closing the achievement gap.