Roxbury Elementary Nominated for Solon's Seventh National Blue Ribbon School Award

The Ohio Department of Education nominated the Roxbury Elementary School for the U.S. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon School Award on Tuesday. Roxbury joins 13 other Ohio public schools to be nominated for the Blue Ribbon award this year.

With the Roxbury Elementary School nomination, all seven Solon Schools have been nominated for the National Blue Ribbon School Award.

“We are honored that ODE has nominated Roxbury for the Blue Ribbon School Award this year,” Joseph Regano, superintendent of Solon Schools, said in a statement. “Congratulations to our Roxbury students whose hard work and achievement led to this recognition.”

The Blue Ribbon program recognizes public and private elementary, middle and high schools with superior student achievement. Roxbury Elementary students ranked in the top tier of all Ohio schools based on their state assessments in both reading and math. The school qualified as an "exemplary high-performing school" under standards set by the U.S. Department of Education.

"Our Roxbury team is elated and so proud of all our students,” Carla Rodenbucher, the principal of Roxbury Elementary School, said in a statement. “Our students continually rise to the occasion and meet the increased rigor of classroom learning."

Schools are measured by federally-defined achievement criteria, particularly based on closing achievement gaps among student groups. One-third of a state's nominated schools must have student bodies of which 40-percent are economically disadvantaged. Only 417 schools nationwide are nominated each year.

The winners of the 2016 National Blue Ribbon School Award will be announced in September.