Blue Ribbon Award Presented to Ridge High School for Excellence In Education

The award that designates Ridge High School as a "model for other schools throughout the nation" according the United States Department of Education has come home to Basking Ridge.

Board of Education President Bill Koch and Superintendent Valerie Goger presented the 2009 "Blue Ribbon Award" to Ridge Principal Frank Howlett at Monday's Board of Education meeting. The award was first given to the school at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in November, and was presented for the first time in Basking Ridge on Monday.

"The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are either academically superior or demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement for disadvantaged students," Koch said at the meeting.

Only four percent of approximately 133,000 schools in the U.S. have been designated Blue Ribbon schools by the U.S. Department of Education since the program's inception in 1982.

"A Blue Ribbon School flag waving overhead has become a mark of excellence, a symbol of quality recognized by everyone from parents to policy-makers in thousands of communities," Koch said.

This is the first time Ridge has won the award, which has become increasingly difficult to obtain since No Child Left Behind was enacted in 2002. All schools nominated for the award must rank in the top 10 percent on state assessments in math and reading, and also complete a lengthy application process with evidence of the school's academic excellence.

"The Board of Education and the entire Bernards Township Community recognize the efforts of our students, teachers, parents and administrators in earning this very presitigous award," Koch said. "As Board President, it is my distinct privilege and honor to present this plaque to the principal of Blue Ribbon Ridge High School."