East Austin School Named 2015 National Blue Ribbon School

Blackshear Elementary Fine Arts Academy has been named a National Blue Ribbon School.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the 2015 winners on Tuesday. Blackshear Elementary was the only Austin-area school to be given the honor.

“It was really an incredible feeling and of course very emotional, a lot of excitement,” Principal Betty Jenkins told Patch.

Jenkins and several teachers watched the livestream of the announcement during school on Tuesday. “We heard the announcement from the Secretary of Education and then we were waiting patiently while each slide was presented,” Jenkins said. “They were in alphabetical in order by state. We just kept waiting. Where’s Texas?”

When Texas was finally announced, the first school was in McAllen, Texas. “Our mouths dropped for a minute there,” she said. Anticipating alphabetical order, they thought they didn’t make the cut.

The state of Texas nominated the school for the award. “We had been doing well for two three years in a row,” Jenkins said, adding that the winners are chosen by testing scores, how you work with the community and parents and creating partnerships with the community.

The award is based on a school’s overall academic excellence or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. The award was given to 335 schools across the country.

“This honor recognizes your students’ accomplishments and the hard work and dedication that went into their success. Your journey has taught you collaboration, intentional instruction, and strong relationships in school and with your community. You represent excellence—in vision, in implementation, and in results—and we want to learn as much as we can from you,” Duncan said in a video message.

“The teachers are so excited. a school gets so excited that someone is noticing the work that you are doing, especially at a national level. It’s more a sense of you are doing something right,” Jenkins said.

A small group of teachers from the school will head to Washington, D.C., later this year for an official ceremony.

In the meantime, they’re planning a celebration at the IBC Bank Plaza at 500 West 5th St. on the 13th floor on Oct. 2.

Check out the full list of 2015 winners here.

[PHOTO: Blackshear Elementary Fine Arts School]