Brainerd Dispatch: All six Brainerd district elementaries given national Blue Ribbon honor

All six of Brainerd School District's elementary schools were named Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.

The department made the announcement Tuesday.

"It's something that really is for the entire community to celebrate," said Brainerd Superintendent Klint Willert. "It means the success of students, the wonderful teachers, and support staff that helped achieve the results we have."

Back in February, the state of Minnesota named eight nominated schools, six of which are in the Brainerd School District. All eight received the official honor Tuesday.

The Brainerd District schools - Harrison, Riverside, Lowell, Garfield, Nisswa, Baxter - are part of 337 schools nationwide to be honored in the program, which recognizes schools that are making "exemplary progress in closing achievement gaps or exemplary academic performance."

In its 32-year history, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program handed down the award to just under 7,900 schools across the nation.

The Brainerd School District has received three Blue Ribbon School awards in the last 25 years - one at Lowell, Riverside and Whittier.

Willert said the recent news is cause for a community celebration.

"Schools are a critical function of any community," he said. "They are one of those things that families look at when deciding where to live. ... We all benefit from high-quality public schools."

Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius said in a phone interview Tuesday the Brainerd School District demonstrated progress in closing the education achievement gap that exists between white students and students of color. She said Minnesota does a good job educating white students and those from affluent families and efforts are being made to expand that success to others.

"We want to see that same result for poor kids, kids of color ... all of our student groups," she said.

Cassellius said she knew all six of the district's elementary schools had won the Blue Ribbon Schools award but had to keep it a secret in September when she visited Brainerd schools with Gov. Mark Dayton.

Earlier, when so many Brainerd schools were on the eligibility list for her department to possibly nominate for the federal award, she had called up former superintendent Steve Razidlo for an explanation as to how Brainerd schools had demonstrated such success.

"He was able to talk about the work clearly and articulately" she said about all day kindergarten efforts, how schools were focused on instruction and a third grade literacy program.

"That kind of leadership and community support came through with your Bridges program, coaches, mentors - every single thing was supported" she said.

Cassellius said she's made several visits to Brainerd schools and talked with leadership teams.

"I've just always been impressed with the overall focus, Bridges, support for the pre-K (pre-Kindergarten) and Early Childhood," she said.

Dayton applauded the district for the awards.

"What a phenomenal accomplishment, for which the Brainerd School Board, administrators, teachers, parents, and students should be very proud," he said in a statement. "I recently visited one of Brainerd's award-winning schools, where I saw the dedication, enthusiasm, and teamwork which made them so successful."

Rep. Rick Nolan, D-Minn., added in a statement, "These six schools exemplify the high bar we set for ourselves in Minnesota when it comes to educating our youth. This well-deserved honor goes to all the students, educators, and families who make our schools truly exceptional."

Willert added, "It's unprecedented to have all elementary schools in a district receive this honor."

Brainerd school leaders will travel to Washington, D.C. for a special recognition ceremony on Nov. 10-11 for all award recipients.

Locally, school, staff and community celebrations are being planned. Details on those celebrations will be coming when available.