Enjoy that Blue Ribbon feeling

To many students at Houston High, all of the tests, homework assignments, projects, presentations and speeches seem to be part of the daily process they need to graduate. Yet, what they don’t know is that the hard work they put into every paper is about to pay off.

Our own Houston High School has been nominated for the U.S. Department of Education’s prestigious Blue Ribbon Award, and the excitement is nearly tangible.

According to a Mat-Su Borough School District press release, the Blue Ribbon Award Program “honors schools that are high performing or schools with a high percentage of disadvantaged students who show significant improvement on statewide assessments in language arts and math.”

Houston has made adequate yearly progress (AYP) eight out of nine years thanks to all of the dedicated students, parents and staff. Although we will not find out the winners of the Blue Ribbon Award until September 2011, the fact that our school was nominated is very important to our Hawks.

As a school that is often misunderstood, it’s nice to see that what happens inside of the classrooms has been recognized by those who really care about the students. For the past few years, Houston has been mistaken for a school of drug-ridden teenagers who are violent and unruly, and I truly hope our nomination shows the rest of the Valley that Houston is just as great as the other schools regarding our academic scores and student body as a whole.

To be eligible for the nomination, a school must make AYP, as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act, during the year it applies as well as the two previous years. Nominated schools must also prepare an extensive application. This includes a narrative of its vision, community and strengths, descriptions of curriculum, instruction, professional development and leadership. It also must include student assessment data.

Houston is a very inspiring school with a lot to offer. Although the student body is small, the determination every single student has to succeed in everything they do is noticeable as they strive to be the best they can. Our students band together like a family to support and help each other, whether it’s with an assignment, understanding a presentation, studying for a test and so on.

Being nominated for the Blue Ribbon Award is a rare and very special achievement only a few schools in Alaska have earned. Throughout the United States, a very small amount of high schools have been nominated and won the award, which is another reason why being nominated is such a great accomplishment for Houston.

When Houston’s principal, Bill Johnson, received the news that Houston was nominated, his excitement was barely contained.

When I found out, I was sitting in my Anatomy and Physiology class when Mr. Johnson walked in. He pulled my teacher, Colby Wolfer, to the side to share the good news, but my class seemed to know that it included us. As we all continuously asked Johnson what the news was, he finally announced that we were nominated for the Blue Ribbon Award.

At first, the class was silent because we didn’t understand what this award was. After he explained it to us, we discussed how all of our hard work had brought the school to this point.

Being a part of a Blue-Ribbon-Award-nominated school brings a great feeling of accomplishment, and I hope every single Hawk is feeling the same way. As a school, we’ve strived for years to be the best, and even when classes got harder and the days got longer, our staff was there to help us get back on the right path, and now we’re almost to our destination.

Every single Houston student, even those who graduated last year, should be proud of themselves for helping us get Houston to where it is now. Without their constant hard work and good attitudes, we wouldn’t be as far as we are now.

The time between now and September 2011 will be long and suspenseful, but we won’t give up. This nomination is extremely important, but as long as we are determined to be the best, Houston will continue to grow academically.

Kylie Boepple is a senior at Houston High School.