Decked out in blue ribbons

Park Avenue Elementary one of only 250 schools recognized nationally for student achievements Warwick - Park Avenue Elementary has been named a 2006 “No Child Left Behind” Blue Ribbon School, one of only 250 schools across the country to so recognized by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings for helping close the achievement gap, and for students who achieve at very high levels. Park Avenue Elementary was selected based on outstanding test scores, having placed in the top 10 percent of state assessments. Orysia Dmytrenko, the regional representative for the U.S. Department of Education, made the presentation to Principal Kathleen Affigne during a ceremony last week. In 2006, 250 schools have achieved Blue Ribbon status out of more than 120,000 public and private schools in the nation. As a Blue Ribbon school, Park Avenue serves as a model for the rest of the country, providing ideas and strategies that other schools may be able to adapt to their own unique needs. It is one of just 14 schools in New York to be a Blue Ribbon school and the only one in Orange County. “These schools show what wonderful accomplishments can be made when we focus on the bottom line in education - student achievement,” Spellings, the federal education czar, said in a press release announcing the award. “All of these schools have students from all subgroups who have made impressive test gains or who scored in the top tier on state tests. They are outstanding examples of how all students can achieve to higher standards.” Affigne will travel to Washington, D.C., Nov. 9-10 to represent Park Avenue Elementary School in a ceremony honoring all the 2006 Blue Ribbon School recipients.