F-F Elementary officially receives its 2009 National Blue Ribbon School Award

It all became official on Nov. 2 and 3 as Principal Alicia Henry and Reading Coach Sue Wolf formally accepted Fonda-Fultonville Elementary School's 2009 National Blue Ribbon School Award during special ceremonies in Washington, DC. They proudly accepted a plaque and a flag to mark the event.

Representing the elementary faculty and staff, the two joined representatives from 315 other schools who had also earned the prestigious award.

Over the two days, they heard speakers including National Director of Blue Ribbon Programs Aba Kumi and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who commended the recipients for their hard work and achievement.

Data-driven instruction is working

Mrs. Henry and Mrs. Wolf also had the chance to meet with teachers and administrators from other successful school. It was soon clear that many successful schools share something in common—data-driven instruction.

Stated simply, data-driven instruction adjusts what and how teachers teach based on how students perform on standardized tests. For example, if a number of students miss the same math question, teachers might adjust how they teach that concept. Over time, students become better prepared to meet state and federal standards.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honored Fonda-Fultonville as a school with at least 40 percent of its students from disadvantaged backgrounds that demonstrates dramatic improvement of student performance to high levels on state tests. In addition, public schools must meet Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, in reading (English Language Arts) and mathematics as established by the New York State Education Department.

Mrs. Henry anticipates that a representative from the U.S. Department of Education will visit Fonda-Fultonville Elementary to personally recognize the staff and students whose hard work made the award possible.

A look in photos at the trip

The trip was not all meetings and ceremonies. Organizers arranged an evening tour of several historic sites. Mrs. Wolf created a PowerPoint presentation that captures the meetings, ceremonies, and the tour. (see Mrs. Wolf's presentation)