From left, Southern High Principal Mary Alice Todd, County Schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell, State School Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick and Daria Strouse, executive director of Partnerships and Development for Maryland Public Schools, during a reception Feb. 12 recognizing Southern High as a Maryland Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Southern is the 13th school in Anne Arundel County to receive the honor, and the second high school. Elizabeth Johnson — For Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Published in the Capital February 19, 2009
Of the 1,600 schools in the state of Maryland, only six are named Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence each year. The designation comes from the Maryland State Department of Education, and the school that wins the honor has to meet a rigorous set of standards for student performance.
The rigors of meeting the criteria are so tough that no high school has won Blue Ribbon status in the past couple of years.
That streak ended in December when Southern High School in Harwood was named a Maryland Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
Last Thursday, officials from the county and state came to the school to celebrate with students. The roster of VIPs was long, including State Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick, county Superintendent Kevin Maxwell, former county executive Janet Owens (a Southern alumna), county School Board members Eugene Peterson and Collin Wojciechowski, Council Chairman Ed Reilly, R-Severn, and Del. Bob Costa, R-Deale.
Mary Alice Todd, Southern's principal, hosted the ceremony, which took place in the school auditorium. It was packed with excited students.
"It's a great day to be a bulldog," Todd said, referring to the school's mascot.
One by one, students and VIPs took to the podium to talk about the pride they had in their school.
Lawrence Jenkins is a student and an athlete at the school. He takes AP courses, runs track and plays basketball. He announced his pride in this "great achievement" and then introduced County Councilman Ed Reilly and Del. Bob Costa.
Reilly talked about the rising tide of expectations, while Costa joked to the assembled crowd that, "we always knew we were the best."
Grasmick stepped to the microphone and told students that Maryland has achieved many proud accomplishments in the last few years, among them being ranked as the top educational system according to Education Week magazine. She lauded Southern students for taking so many AP courses, which not only helped the school earn Blue Ribbon status, but also helping the state inch closer to beating New York state in becoming the state with the most students enrolled in AP classes.
"For 55 years, New York has been No. 1 in AP, and we have placed third, fourth or fifth," Grasmick said. She continued, "I am proud that it was just announced that the state of Maryland is now No. 1."
"So on Opening Day when the O's play the Yankees, make sure you brag about being num- ber one," Grasmick said, while pumping her index finger into the air.
She then announced that aside from getting the prestige and a gigantic blue ribbon affixed to the front of the building, the students would also be receiving prizes.
She announced that Smart Technologies would be donating $6,000 in education technologies to the school. Then, Maxwell announced that the prize was being matched by the school board. Next, she announced that Scholastic would be contributing a library of books.
Finally, she said that Joe Corbi's would be providing a pizza party for all 1,209 students, plus faculty and staff. If none of the other prizes got students on their feet, the pizza party announcement did the trick. As the cheers were dying down, Grasmick made a final announcement that the school was also receiving a cash prize of $2,000 from the Maryland State Department of Education.
Chris Truffer, the school performance officer for the southern cluster of schools, which includes Southern High, said that he was surprised but not shocked by the award. "It is an affirmation of all the good things that are happening here," he said.
Amy and David Reilly, of Reilly Benefits, were on hand representing the school's business partners. "The smallest school in the system, is now the biggest success," Amy Reilly said proudly.
Dr. Darla Strauss is in charge of selecting the schools that receive Blue Ribbon awards. She works for MSDE and said that the winning high schools are usually "high-flying with the most advantaged student population."
She noted that a small, rural high school winning the award is really an accomplishment. "We use state assessments, going back five years. We look at HSAs (high school assessments), we're looking for scoring and improvement," she said. The winning school must also be in the top 10 percent of schools in the state.
In addition to winning the award, which is great for the community, "schools have an opportunity to get grants," Strauss said. She continued, "and for students it is very prestigious to put on college applications."
When asked how Southern managed to earn the coveted award, Principal Todd said, "We have the best folks. We empower the teachers and then get out of the way." Of course for the adults in the building, it was a moving achievement, but students were excited, too. "I can't stop smiling, and I'm not even the principal," said Alena Sanders, a senior at the school.
The school now has the opportunity to win the national Blue Ribbon of Excellence award from the U.S. Department of Education. Those awards will be announced in September.
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