2 area schools earn blue ribbon honor

GREEN BAY - Two schools in Northeast Wisconsin are among 305 in the nation being honored for success in the classroom.

Beaumont Elementary School in Green Bay and Fremont Elementary School in Fremont earned National Blue Ribbon status from the U.S. Department of Education.

“It's a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Gwen Harron, the literacy coach at Beaumont.

To earn the National Blue Ribbon honor, a school must achieve overall academic excellence or succeed in closing achievement gaps.

For Beaumont staff, they had a plan for students to do both.

“I think the biggest thing would be the collaboration amongst the staff, working together to have common language,” said Dawn Fry, a third grade teacher at Beaumont.

“That helped our students achieve higher because they didn't have to relearn some of the same things every year,” said Harron.

State tests helped gauge schools for the honor.

At least eight percent more 3rd and 5th graders in Beaumont were proficient or advanced in 2010 WKCE reading and math assessments compared to students in other Wisconsin public schools, according to Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction.

Kirk Delwiche, the principal at Fremont Elementary, says the National Blue Ribbon is a humbling designation.

“As a staff we work tirelessly to help each student succeed on an individual basis,” said Delwiche. “It's a team effort that we're very proud of.”

Nominations for the award come from the top education official in each state.

• Click here to learn more about the program and see the full list of schools

The other Wisconsin winners include Gaston Elementary in Beloit, Kennedy Elementary in Janesville, Locust Lane Elementary in Eau Claire, Paris Elementary in Kenosha, Rib Lake High School and Whittier Elementary in Milwaukee.