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School Honored in Washington
By BRITTANY BROWN
October 26, 2008 (Reprinted with permission of the
Hattiesburg American) Oak Grove Middle School was one of 320 schools
honored at a formal ceremony in Washington, D.C.,
last week for being named a 2008 National Blue
Ribbon School. Principal Terry Ingram, Lamar County Schools
Superintendent Ben Burnett and middle school teacher
Jenny Doleac attended the two-day ceremony that
began Tuesday. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education,
officials at the ceremony presented Ingram with a
plaque and flag as a symbol of the school's high
academic achievement. "It was just a very rewarding experience," Ingram
said. "It was also a time of sharing with some of
the most outstanding schools in the country." Ingram said the plaque and flag will be displayed at
Oak Grove Middle School. "There's so many stakeholders in our community who
we want to share this with," he said. Burnett, a former principal at the middle school,
said the ceremony was especially touching. "Seeing a school from the Lamar County School
district recognized as one of the best in the nation
in Washington, D.C., was an amazing experience," he
said. "It is a great reward for the hard work of many
teachers, parents and students." The competitive Blue Ribbon Schools program is a
part of the No Child Left Behind federal legislation
and that designation was given to four Mississippi
schools this year. The program recognizes public and
private schools for their academic and student
achievement. Ingram said the Mississippi Department of Education
nominated his school for the national recognition. Blue Ribbon Schools are selected based on one of two
criteria: having at least 40 percent of students
from impoverished backgrounds advance on state tests
or having students who rank in the top 10 percent of
state tests. |
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