Brown Summit Middle Earns National Blue Ribbon Status

The U.S. Department of Education selected Brown Summit Middle as a 2011 National Blue Ribbon School. Across the U.S., just 304 schools were chosen for the prestigious honor, including 255 public schools and 49 private schools. Nationwide, there are approximately 99,000 public schools in the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will honor the schools at the National Blue Ribbon School awards ceremony on Nov. 14-15 in Washington, D.C.

“We, as a school community of parents, students and faculty members, are thrilled at being named a National Blue Ribbon School for 2011,” said Principal Debbie Mott. “It reflects all of the hard work that goes on every day by our teachers and students and the wonderful support given to us by our parents.”

Brown Summit Middle, one of Guilford County Schools’ magnet schools, serves about 245 students in grades six through eight offering advanced curriculum in small class settings. The school has continuously met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and has been designated an Honor School of Excellence since the 2006-07 school year. Academic results for the 2010-11 school year showed 100 percent proficiency in End-of-Grade reading, math and science and End-of-Course Algebra.

Blue Ribbon Schools are selected based on their overall academic excellence or for their success in closing achievement gaps. Before selecting National Blue Ribbon Schools, the Department asks for nominations from the top education official in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, the Department of Defense Education Activity and the Bureau of Indian Education. The Council for American Private Education nominates private schools.

A total of 413 schools nationwide are nominated, based on the number of K-12 students and the number of schools in each jurisdiction. The schools are then invited by the Secretary of Education to submit an application for possible recognition as a National Blue Ribbon School.