By Sue Wambolt, Contributing Writer
Northborough – U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently recognized St. Bernadette School in Northborough as a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School. Of the 337 schools recognized nationwide, St. Bernadette’s is one of only 50 non-public schools and the only non-public school in all of New England to receive this honor. Blue ribbon schools are chosen based on academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. St. Bernadette’s was recognized as an “Exemplary High Performing School.”
St. Bernadette’s, a Roman Catholic school established in 1997 by the Diocese of Worcester, serves girls and boys in preschool through grade 8. It is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
In order to be considered for blue ribbon status, a non-public school must boast standardized test scores which fall within the top 15 percent in the nation. According to Melissa Kane, director of advancement at St. Bernadette’s, the school’s scores met and exceeded the baseline scores required and a pre-application was submitted last November. The school was then invited to submit a full application which covered many areas such as curriculum, instructional methods, professional development, school leadership, and parent and family involvement. The completed 30-page application was submitted to the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) in January.
Later that month, St. Bernadette’s was notified that CAPE was nominated them to the Department of Education. An application was submitted to the Department of Education in late February.
“We were then ‘unofficially’ told by the Department of Education that we were among the recommended schools and that the formal announcement would be made by the Secretary of Education in September. We were to not publicize this until then,” Kane said. “So it was a long four months while we kept it a secret!”
As the award attests, St. Bernadette’s maintains high academic standards as well as a high level of commitment by both faculty and students.
“The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has long declared that all Catholic Schools must be schools of excellence. Bishop Robert J. McManus of the Worcester Diocese, has supported all Catholic schools in their efforts to provide a rigorous academic program grounded in faith values,” said St. Bernadette Principal Deborah O’Neil.
The Department of Education will honor 287 public and 50 private schools at a recognition ceremony in Washington, D.C. Nov. 10 and 11. Due to the number of schools involved, only two representatives from each school is invited to attend.
St. Bernadette’s will be represented by O’Neil and Pastor Rev. Ronald G. Falco. Many others from the school will travel down and watch the ceremony in an adjacent ballroom. Among them, Assistant Principal Julianne Morin, Superintendent Dr. Delma Josephson, Assistant Director of Mission Andrea Tavaska, past School Advisory Board Chair Kristin Melley and Director of Advancement Melissa Kane.
“St. Bernadette School is honored to have been named a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School and recognizes that we share this distinction with our 500 colleagues and school families of nearly 7,000 students enrolled in Catholic schools throughout the Diocese,” O’Neil said.