Findlay Elementary School named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education for exceptional academic growth and achievement.
White County Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said just six schools in Tennessee received the recognition during the last award cycle. Dronebarger said the honor is based on performance metrics that show the school is closing achievement gaps among its student population.
“Just super proud of our whole school and our community and I think it just recognizes that our students if pushed to excellence and our teachers have pushed to excellence and our whole school community, myself included, that we can compete with schools across the nation,” Dronebarger said.
Dronebarger said the school identifies specific needs by analyzing benchmark testing data in reading and math. Dronebarger said faculty members then organize students into different tier groups to provide targeted instruction and assistance from tutors.
“We do what’s called progress monitoring to make sure that the next time that we test on those benchmark tests that we’re seeing the growth that we’re looking for, and if not, we make adjustments and go from there,” Dronebarger said.
Dronebarger said the district supports these efforts by providing curriculum supervisors and academic coaches who work directly with administrators and teachers. Dronebarger said these coaches focus on finding resources and strategies for the classroom rather than performing staff evaluations.
“We really pride ourselves on the work that our coaches do, they’re not there to evaluate teachers, they’re not passing any judgment, they’re really there just to link arms and help them find the resources and the strategies they need to be successful with their students every day,” Dronebarger said.
Dronebarger said the achievement is rare for the region, noting that only about three schools in the Upper Cumberland have earned the award since the program began in the early 1980s. Dronebarger said the success at the elementary level is vital because it establishes the necessary groundwork for students to succeed in higher grades and eventually enter the workforce.
“It’s a great honor,” Dronebarger said. “Based on my research, there’s only been about three schools in the Upper Cumberland since this program’s existence, which I think started back in the early 1980s. So to be one of those three out of this region is really impressive and really something we’re proud of.”
Dronebarger said the district plans to study the specific tactics used by Principal Rebecca Ryan and Assistant Principal Kyle Hicks to see if they can be emulated at other schools. Dronebarger said the goal is to ensure all students in the district are meeting state expectations and are prepared for post-secondary education.
“The students work really hard,” Dronebarger said. “School is hard these days, there’s a lot of testing going on and again, be remiss if we didn’t mention the hard work of our school family.”
Dronebarger said the district will continue to monitor data to see where the largest academic jumps occur to help other schools aspire to the same level of excellence.
