New Providence High Recognized As 2011 National Blue Ribbon School

The U.S. Department of Education named as a 2011 National Blue Ribbon School on Thursday morning, along with 304 other schools nationwide.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Miceli announced the good news at the Board of Education Work Session on Thursday night.

“We have been waiting for the past couple months [to hear about] our nomination here at the high school for Blue Ribbon,” Miceli said. “There are two paths to receive this recognition. One is if you’ve had a significant number of students who have not been performing at a proficiency level and then over time, we bring up their scores so there’s significant growth in student achievement within your building and/or just having sustained high achievement. We came in under the category of sustained high achievement.”

High School Principal Paul Casarico said a school must first be nominated by the state before applying for this recognition, which is the highest federal ranking that a school can receive.

“We’ll be a Blue Ribbon School for life. It’s not an easily earned recognition,” Casarico said. “They look at a lot of data, a lot of your school’s achievement on the HSPA. They’re looking for schools that continually perform well and if you make it through the first round, they ask for a little more information. It’s a pretty intensive process where you have to provide them with a lot of different information about your school.”

A total of 413 schools were nominated nationwide and were invited to submit an application, according to a U.S. Department of Education press release. Out of the 305 schools selected, 256 are public schools, while 49 are private schools.

“America’s long-term economic prosperity and civic engagement depends on our children receiving a world-class education,” said Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, who announced the recipients on Thursday morning. “National Blue Ribbon Schools are committed to accelerating student achievement and preparing students for success in college and careers. Their success is an example for others to follow.”

On Thursday, Gov. Chris Christie praised New Providence and the 13 other New Jersey schools that were named National Blue Ribbon Schools.

“This national distinction is well deserved, and is a tremendous accomplishment for the teachers, administrators, and students in these schools," Christie said. "Public education is meant to be the great equalizer to make sure that all children, no matter where they’re born, have an equal shot at life. Our goal is to ensure that every student in New Jersey, regardless of the zip code in which they are born, graduates from high school ready for college and a career. These schools have demonstrated what is possible in education, and we applaud them on their accomplishment."

Since 1982, more than 6,500 of America’s schools have received this coveted award, including the New Providence Middle School in 2007. But the process of achieving this recognition at the high school didn’t come without the hard work from faculty and students.

After the school was nominated for the first time last year, Casarico began working on an extensive application with the help from other faculty members.

“I didn’t do it all myself, I had a lot of help,” said Casarico, who submitted the application last November. “There were a lot of people like Mrs. Eileen Gorman, [the Language Arts Department Head], that helped; Byron Tracey, [a History Teacher], was very instrumental in helping me out with the process, and Jon Keaney, [the Science Department Head].”

In total, Casarico said there were 10 essays that had to be completed with the application, each containing very specific questions, such as how the school curriculum was formed, how students continually showed improvement, what the school does differently from other schools and how the school uses assessment data to drive instruction.

Some of the essays focused on how the school communicates student performance to parents, shares successful strategies with other schools, differentiates instructions, and how faculty members meet the needs of diverse student sub-groups. Other essays focused on how the school implements professional development of its faculty, and the leadership philosophy and structure of the school.

After the application was submitted, Casarico said it was sent to a committee in Washington D.C. that oversees all of the Blue Ribbon applications. “So they go over all of your essays, they go over all of your data to make sure it’s correct, and then they make determinations from there,” he said.

An Awards Ceremony will be held on Nov. 14 and 15 in Washington D.C., and Casarico will be attending to accept the award with Mrs. Eileen Gorman.

Miceli said the State Board of Education may also hold a ceremony in December to honor New Providence High School and other schools throughout the state.

“Congratulations to all of the faculty and the students,” Casarico said. “This is an award that shows excellence overtime. So this probably goes back 7 or 8 years, if not further. It examines a lot of data so a lot of people have had a hand in it.”

The 13 other New Jersey schools awarded a “National Blue Ribbon” include: 

• Holy Trinity Interparochial School (Westfield, Union County)
• Lincoln Elementary School (Ridgefield Park, Bergen County)
• Our Lady of Mercy Academy (Park Ridge, Bergen County)
• Our Lady of the Lake School (Verona, Essex County)
• Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (Rumson, Monmouth County)
• Saint Elizabeth School (Wyckoff, Bergen County)
• Saint John's Academy (Hillsdale, Bergen County)
• St. John the Apostle School (Clark, Union County)
• St. Joseph School (Oradell, Bergen County)
• Terence C. Reilly School No. 7 (Elizabeth, Union County)
• Tewksbury Elementary School (Califon, Hunterdon County)
• Thomas Jefferson Elementary School (Hawthorne, Passaic County)
• Watchung School (Montclair, Essex County)