Lake Road Elementary is one of eight schools in the state chosen as a 2018 Missouri Gold Star School by the Missouri Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education.
As a result, Lake Road has also been nominated for national Blue Ribbon recognition, the winners of which will be announced this fall.
Principal Erica Weadon said to receive one of the highest honors in the state lets her know the professional development efforts at Lake Road "are paying off" as this is the first time a Poplar Bluff R-1 School has been a Gold Star recipient.
"We're super excited. For us, it just tells use we're doing the right work with all the initiatives we've put into place. We're developing an amazing professional learning community," Weadon said.
According to DESE, the Missouri Gold Star Schools program began in 1991 and aims to recognize those schools performing at high academic levels or that perform at high levels while serving a significant portion of disadvantaged students.
The program aligns with the national Blue Ribbon Schools program sponsored by the US Dept. of Education. Missouri's Gold Star Schools initiative uses the same criteria as the national Blue Ribbon program to determine its winners.
According to Cathi Rust from DESE's Office of Quality Schools, Lake Road's 2017-18 Missouri Assessment Program scores are the final criteria needed to determine if it qualifies as a national Blue Ribbon Award winner.
Weadon said a focused, goal-driven approach to teaching helped Lake Road achieve Gold Star success.
"We're all working for the exact same thing," she said. "We're all working with the same mission and vision. We set high expectations here and when these kids come to school, they rise to the challenge."
Poplar Bluff R-1 Superintendent Scott Dill said the recognition is well deserved.
"We are, as a school family, immensely proud of this accolade earned by the students, staff and teachers at Lake Road Elementary School," Dill said. "This award is well deserved as recognition of their consistent efforts over the course of many years to establish the expectation that all learners will learn at high levels."
National Blue Ribbon Award winners will be announced by the US Dept. of Education in September.