Larson Elementary a Blue Ribbon winner

WASILLA — Larson Elementary School has been designated as a 2009 Blue Ribbon School, one of the three in the state.

The Blue Ribbon achievement indicates superior academic success, dramatic gains in achievement scores, or success in closing the gap in achievement among minorities and disadvantaged students. This award is given on the behalf the No Child Left Behind effort to raise education around the country.

For Larson Elementary this is the culmination of a “multi-faceted effort with the community, teachers, students and parents,” said Principal AnnMarie Bill.

“Winning the award was a byproduct of the hard work and we set our goals very high,” Bill said, adding that, “This is a Larson community award.”

To be eligible for the award a school must have at least 40 percent of its students from disadvantaged backgrounds, dramatically improve student performance in accordance with state assessment systems or score in the top 10 percent on state assessments.

The U.S. Department of Education awards each Blue Ribbon School. This year, 314 of 120,000 public and private schools were awarded with a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Each winner receives a plaque and flag as decoration for its academic achievement.

Since 1982, 25 Alaska schools have received this award, including Mat-Su’s Iditarod Elementary School in 2004.

“They (Blue Ribbon schools) are places where improved teaching and learning benefits every student, and where students are challenged to meet high expectations with the active support of teachers, parents and the community,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said.

Larson is a kindergarten through fifth-grade school that has 341 students and 25 certified teachers. Bill has been principal for the last four years and has 40 years of experience as an educator.