Bed-Stuy Charter School for 'Fierce Females' Selected as National Blue Ribbon Winner

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Uncommon Schools Excellence Girls (USEG), a K-8 school with 800 students in two locations, a K-4 Elementary Academy at 794 Monroe St., with 450 students and a 5-8 Middle Academy with 350 students at 1600 Park Pl., has been selected by U.S. Department of Education (DOE) officials as one of their National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2016.

The prestigious award "recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups," according to the DOE.

“It is an honor to be recognized as a National Blue Ribbon school,” Nikki Bowen, the principal of USEG, said in a statement sent to Patch. “This award confirms all the work that we’ve been doing with our scholars to build their confidence and inspire them to become fierce females. We want our girls to know that their voice matters and they can become anything they dream of.”

A total of 329 schools were selected for the award nationwide this year, of which 279 are public and 50 are private. Ten of these schools are located in New York City — and P.S. 39 is one of just two in Brooklyn. (The other being Park Slope's P.S. 39.)

For context, there are nearly 100,000 public schools in the U.S., so the National Blue Ribbon prize is awarded to only around 0.3 percent of the nation's schools.

Here is the full list of 2016 National Blue Ribbon schools in NYC:

• Big Apple Academy (Non-Public), Gravesend
• Excellence Girls Charter School, Bed-Stuy
• Icahn Charter School 4, Bronx
• P.S. 158 The Bayard Taylor School, Upper East Side
• P.S. 242 Leonard P. Stavisky Early Childhood School, Queens
• P.S. 35 The Clove Valley School, Staten Island
• P.S. 39 The Henry Bristow School, Park Slope
• Success Academy Bronx 1, Bronx
• Success Academy Harlem 4, Harlem
• University Prep Charter High School, Bronx

Bowen, principal at USEG in Bed-Stuy, said the school's curriculum focuses on "fierce females" — aka, women from various countries, ethnicities and backgrounds who have struggled and triumphed. Teachers at USEG show students what they're capable of, despite whatever challenges they may be facing, Bowen said.

The school will celebrate the national honor with a morning assembly attended by NYC elected officials and USEG administrators, teachers, parents and students at 7 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 30, at 794 Monroe Street.

All 329 winning schools will be recognized on Nov. 7 and 8 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

"National Blue Ribbon Schools are proof that we can prepare every child for college and meaningful careers," U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said in a video message to the winners. "Your schools are on the cutting edge, pioneering innovative educational practices — professional learning communities, project-based learning, social and emotional learning, positive behavior systems — making you shining examples for your communities, your state and the nation."

Pictured: Excellence Girls Charter School. Image via Google Maps