Dear Addison Parents,
Well, it’s official!! I’m very proud and excited to share with you that earlier today, the U.S. Secretary of
Education, John B. King, Jr and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction announced that Addison
Elementary has been officially designated as a 2016 National Blue Ribbon School.
We are ecstatic to say the least! We are one of only 279 public schools and 50 private schools across the nation to be
honored this year.
In addition, we are one of only eight schools in the state of Wisconsin (at any level – elementary, middle, or high school) to be recognized. There are two performance award categories for National Blue Ribbon Schools: 1) those that are “exemplary high performing schools”, or 2) those that are “exemplary achievement gap closing schools.”
Addison Elementary has been recognized as an “exemplary achievement gap closing school” from data collected over the past several years.
The U.S. Department of Education’s National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has honored America’s most successful public and non-public elementary, middle, and high schools since 1982. The program sets a standard of excellence for all schools striving for the highest level of achievement. Schools that attain Blue Ribbon status are honored each year at a recognition ceremony in Washington D.C.
I will be attending the ceremony on November 7 – 8, along with two Addison teachers, and we will proudly
accept a plaque and a flag, which will both be prominently displayed in the school for all to see.
Clearly, this is a major accomplishment and honor for our school and our school district. Our Team Time program, which is part of the Response to Instruction (RtI) initiative, was started five years ago in our district. We have worked diligently the past five years to improve our overall core instruction and to provide needed intervention services to all students during the course of the school day.
Our hard work and efforts have been recognized at both a state and national level and we couldn’t be prouder!
Addison is now the second school in the district to be recognized for this award. Allenton Elementary was nominated and named a National Blue Ribbon School back in 2010. We certainly have a lot to be proud of in the Slinger School District and this distinction is yet another example of the hard work and effort exhibited by all of our school staff, on a 4K-12th grade basis.
We wanted to share this information with you and celebrate together. You, as parents, have been a big
part of our success, along with your hard working children. Your support of education, our school, and
your children are part of the “recipe for success” that has helped in making this award possible. My
sincere thanks to all of you for your part in helping us win this award. Well done and congratulations!
Sincerely,
John T. Larkin, Principal
Addison Elementary School