Wengert Elementary to receive national honor

Teresa Hinds

Friday, June 6, 1997 | 5:47 a.m.

Staff at Wengert Elementary School knew something was up when they were named a state Blue Ribbon School last year.

And now, Principal Scott Ober and two other staff members are preparing for a trip to the White House in the fall to receive the 1996-97 national Blue Ribbon School honor.

The award recognizes excellence and was given to 262 public and private schools in 41 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The honor, said Ober, "Validates what we have been working so hard for. We have a lot of unique programs that are good for kids and to be recognized for that on a national level validates us."

The excitement began building in April when a member of the U.S. Department of Education spent three days at the school verifying information on its application for the national honor, interviewing everyone from Superintendent Brian Cram to students at the year-round school.

The interviewer also had to authenticate the information in Wengert's application before the year-round school could be considered a contender for the national honor.

"We had no idea that we had been selected," Ober said. "Everyone else was more confident than I was (after the national representative visit), but I just didn't want to think about it."

Ober told his staff at the celebration following the Department of Education visit that, "Whether we get this thing or not, we have to be very proud of what we've done at this school."

In addition to the letters of congratulations from state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mary Peterson, U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley and Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., the school will receive the national award when Ober and two staff members travel to Washington, D.C., in the fall.

"It's done right there on the White House lawn, with the president if he's available," Ober said. If not, Education Secretary Riley will make the presentation.

Among the criteria the panel considers in making Blue Ribbon School selections are retention and graduation rates, test scores, standards and curriculum, teaching strategies, and an environment that strengthens teacher skills and improvement, and partnerships between the school, family and community.

Among the special programs at the school is Project Life, a reading intervention program that targets first- and second-grade students; one that enables disabled students to be integrated into a regular classroom; a national math and science grant that enable teachers to receive 100 hours of training; a strong parent-volunteer network; and site-based management.

But most important, said Ober, is the staff, which he calls "the best in the world."