CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
Vol. 43, No. 12
March 6 , 2009
15 Elementary Schools Earn “Gold Star” Honors
Fifteen high-performing elementary schools have been honored as Missouri’s “Gold Star Schools” for 2009, state education officials announced today. The selected schools are:
| Kansas City | Academie Lafayette (charter school) |
| Brentwood School District | Mark Twain Elementary |
| Farmington School District | Roosevelt Elementary Washington-Franklin Elementary |
| Hickory County R-I School District | Skyline Elementary |
| Lindbergh School District | Crestwood Elementary Truman Elementary |
| Nixa School District | Century Elementary Espy Elementary |
| Northwest R-I School District | Cedar Springs Elementary |
| Rockwood School District | Kehrs Mill Elementary |
| South Nodaway Co. R-IV School District | South Nodaway Elementary |
| St. Joseph School District | Eugene Field Elementary |
| St. Louis Public Schools | Kennard Classical Jr. Academy |
| Washington School District | Clearview Elementary |
Established by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in 1991, the Gold Star program is designed to identify schools that are performing at a high level academically or making exceptional progress while serving a significant proportion of disadvantaged students.
This is the first year that a Missouri charter school has earned Gold Star status. The Academie Lafayette is a French language immersion school. Three school districts – Farmington, Lindbergh and Nixa – distinguished themselves this year by having two buildings qualify for the Gold Star designation.
The Gold Star program is closely aligned with the national Blue Ribbon Schools program, conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education. Eight Missouri schools are eligible to be nominated for the national Blue Ribbon award, which will be announced this fall.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education identifies schools that are eligible for Blue Ribbon honors (based on academic performance criteria) and invites them to apply for the Gold Star award. The state application requires schools to provide evidence of their success in such areas as curriculum, instruction and school leadership.
“The Gold Star Schools can be models for any school that is striving to improve. These schools are demonstrating success in every type of community across our state – urban, suburban and rural,” said Mary Ann Burns, DESE’s director of school improvement initiatives.
The Gold Star schools will be formally recognized April 7 at a forum in Jefferson City.