SHAPE Elementary School
is National Blue Ribbon winner
By Gregory Piatt,
Belgium bureau
MONS, Belgium — SHAPE Elementary School was selected recently by the Department of
Education as one of the best American schools serving up excellence in education to its
community.
As the only Department of Defense Dependents School to be selected as a National Blue
Ribbon school, SHAPE is among 264 public and private elementary schools from 38 states to
receive the honor for 2000-2001.
"Of the 64,000 elementary schools in the United States …, SHAPE Elementary
School is in the top .003 percent of all elementary schools in the nation," said
Ronald McIntire, superintendent of the DODDS Brussels District, in a congratulatory
message to teachers and administrators in the district.
SHAPE’s assistant principal, Audrey Griffin agreed that this was the nation’s
highest honor for schools.
"It’s like being named the high school valedictorian," Griffin said on
Tuesday. "It validates what we are doing. We are proud of this because we did this as
a group. This honor is a celebration of learning."
The Reagan Administration set up the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program in 1982. It
is to identify and give recognition to public and private schools across the United
States, to start schools communicating about criteria for success and to set up a
framework for self-assessment and planning.
"These schools represent pockets of excellence in education that can be found in
communities across the country," Secretary of Education Rod Paige in a statement when
announcing this year’s top schools.
While it took two years to prepare for the program, Griffin said it takes more than
reams of paperwork to be named a Blue Ribbon School.
"It’s a school taking a look at itself to see if it is meeting it mission
statement and do the kids know it," Griffin said.
SHAPE elementary is not only unique among all elementary schools, it is also different
than most DODDS schools. Its 686 students and 75 staff members are part of an
international complex of schools from several NATO nations.
In some cases there is cross- learning of cultures among the students of the different
schools here.
"These other nations don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, and we share our
culture," Griffin said. "And they share their culture when they teach our
students about [pre-Lenten season] carnival."
International interaction is only one of the educational experiences students get here,
Griffin said. The school has integrated technology into its classes, offers different math
programs, has a drama club, a mentor program, parental interaction and a variety of
teaching models, Griffin added.
"We don’t sit back and say we don’t have enough money," Griffin
said. "We work with children to improve their education. We are educating the future
and the children are the flower of this complex."
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