8 NC schools earn national Blue Ribbon honors. Find out which one is in the Triangle.

A Durham elementary school is one of eight North Carolina schools the U.S. Department of Education is recognizing for high overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps during the 2020-2021 school year.

Pearsontown Elementary School, a public magnet school in Southwest Durham, is among 325 schools across the country that were named 2021 National Blue Ribbon Schools by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on Tuesday.

Hundreds of public and private schools are recognized under the National Blue Ribbon program each year by the Education Department. Schools are nominated by education officials in each state, and are named “exemplary high-performing schools” for having the highest test scores in their state, or “exemplary achievement gap-closing schools” for being the top in their state in reducing achievement gaps between student groups and all students.

Pearsontown Elementary, home to 763 students from Pre-K through fifth grade, was recognized as a high-performing school.

Cardona announced this year’s National Blue Ribbon recipients at Walter R. Sundling Jr. High School, an awardee school, in Palatine, Ill. Cardona is currently touring schools in the Midwest to highlight the return of students and teachers to in-person instruction.

“This year’s cohort of honorees demonstrates what is possible when committed educators and school leaders create vibrant, welcoming, and affirming school cultures where rich teaching and learning can flourish,” Cardona said. “I commend all our Blue Ribbon honorees for working to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs.

Catherine Truitt, Superintendent of Public Instruction, congratulated the state’s eight recipients for their achievements in the face of the coronavirus pandemic’s disruptions, saying they “exemplify what’s best about public education in North Carolina.”

“These schools — their leaders, teachers and students — deserve our praise for creating cultures that truly support teaching and learning,” Truitt said in a news release.

More than 9,000 schools nationwide, and 164 schools in North Carolina, have been recognized by the National Blue Ribbon program since its inception in 1982, according to the release.

Durham school a Blue Ribbon recipient

Pearsontown Elementary is one of at least five year-round magnet schools under the jurisdiction of Durham Public Schools. This is its first time winning a National Blue Ribbon Schools award, according to its application for the program.

Rodriguez Teal, who served as the principal of Pearsontown Elementary for 10 years until his retirement this August, said the award represents the “culmination of strategic and methodical focus by the faculty and staff.”

“Our mantra has always been to do what’s best for kids and put them in optimum learning opportunities to achieve academically,” he said in a news release.

At Pearsontown, students are admitted entirely through a lottery system, come from a “wide attendance zone,” and comprise a “very diverse” student population that is representative of their communities, according to the school’s application.

“The majority of students entering kindergarten are already reading, have a sense of numbers, and are recognizing shapes and colors,” the school reported in its application.

Exceptionally bright students are supported through the school’s Academically Gifted Program.

To ensure students are keeping up with the material being taught, the school conducts “Quick Checks,” or informal assessments offered on a weekly and bi-weekly basis, that are integrated into the daily schedule.

“Academic pacing is important but ensuring that students are grasping the concepts is what allows us to maintain a constant pulse on where our students are academically,” the school said in explaining its approach in the application.

Adapting to COVID

Like most schools, Pearsontown Elementary was caught off guard when it had to shift to remote instruction at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

Parents and educators alike felt a “sense of helplessness and despair” as they determined how to keep students safe and prevent learning loss, the school said.

It developed an online space called “Panda Virtual World,” named after the school mascot, and provided each student who needed technological accommodations with a Chromebook laptop and wireless hot spot.

To space out virtual lessons, the school designed a schedule with three days of instruction on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. One day was designated “Wellness Wednesday,” to provide students with social and emotional support, and Fridays were allocated for remediation, small group work and assessments.

Pearsontown Elementary brought back in-person learning on March 15, after the DPS Board of Education voted to reopen schools in response to the North Carolina General Assembly passing a bill requiring school districts to resume in-person instruction.

The school surveyed parents for their preference of virtual instruction or returning to school for face-to-face instruction. As of the time of the application’s submission, approximately 46% of the school’s 763 students were learning in-person, and 54% were continuing remote education.

NC’s National Blue Ribbon recipients

In addition to Pearsontown Elementary, seven other North Carolina schools were named National Blue Ribbon Schools.

The following schools were recognized as high-performing:

▪ Brush Creek Elementary School, Marshall

▪ Elkin Middle School, Elkin

▪ Pender Early College High School, Burgaw

▪ Union Elementary School, Vale

The following schools were recognized for closing achievement gaps:

▪ Blue Ridge Elementary School, Warrensville

▪ Sallie B. Howard Charter School, Wilson

▪ Sampson Early College High School, Clinton