North High School celebrates Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award

EDMOND November 16, 2007 03:52 pm

— Students, faculty and administrators joined in celebrating Edmond North High School’s most recent award Thursday.
Principal Jan Keirns led the pack of Huskies as students filled the gymnasium clapping and yelling, “Go, Huskies!”
North was nominated by State Superintendent Sandy Garrett to be a 2007 Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and was chosen by the U.S. Department of Education as part of the “No Child Left Behind” initiative.
School officials and special guests, including a former principal, were welcomed by the students.
“It is hard for me to describe how I feel,” Ed Story said. “I am so appreciative the current staff has asked me to come back and be a part. I love this place and I love this staff.”
Story also said everything that was ever done at North always was about the students.
“That’s what makes North so special,” he added.
Story was North’s principal for 10 years and left at the end of the 2006-07 school year.
“You left an indelible mark on this school,” Edmond Public School Superinten-dent David Goin told Story.
Of the 289 schools nominated for the award in the United States, North was one of only 38 high schools chosen.
Six other Oklahoma schools also were chosen as Blue Ribbon schools.
Rep. Marian Cooksey, R-Edmond, proposed the citation of congratulations in recognition of receiving the Blue Ribbon Award that was presented to the school from the State of Oklahoma and the state legislators.
“This school is the best place to teach, and the students are the best to teach,” said 38-year teaching veteran Bryce Smith.
In the revised “No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon School” program, elementary and secondary schools are chosen based on one of two criteria.
Either 40 percent of the school’s disadvantaged children have shown dramatic improvement in performance, or, in the case of North, the school’s students, of whatever background, have performed in the top 10 percent on state tests.
“I think it is a big honor to be selected,” said Phyllis Ward, a 25-year teacher.
“We have done a lot over the years, and we are constantly working on improvement.”
Keirns was the assistant principal of curriculum and instruction at North last year and was the chief author of the application for the award. Eugene Chase and Barbara Howry also worked on the application.
Seven schools have been designated “No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools” in Oklahoma this year. Six of the schools were public and one was private.
North joins seven other Edmond schools as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence including Memorial High School, Central Middle School, Cimarron Middle School, Sequoyah Middle School, Summit Middle School, Northern Hills Elementary and Russell Dougherty Elementary.
Keirns and the students celebrated their win with an ice cream party given by Blue Bell Creameries.
“It’s a good day to be a Husky,” said North’s first principal and now School Board member George Woodham.

pmiller@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 171

Photos

BRETT DEERING | Special to the Sun Kailey Shuler, Edmond North freshman, sings the school song during an assembly Thursday at the school to recognize Edmond North as a 2007 Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Dept. of Education.

BRETT DEERING | Special to the Sun Edmond North juniors Adrian Walker, left, and Maggie Cannon joke around as they hand out Blue Bell ice cream sandwiches after the school assembly Thursday which recognized Edmond North as a 2007 Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Dept. of Education

BRETT DEERING | Special to the Sun Jan Keirns, principal of Edmond North High School, shows the citation the school received from the Oklahoma Legislature which commends North for receiving a 2007 Blue Ribbon School of Excellence from the U.S. Dept. of Education during an assembly Thursday at the school.