Tritt and Sope Creek elementary schools in East Cobb were named 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education.
The honor is awarded to public and private schools around the country “based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.”
There were 312 public schools and 50 private schools to make the list in 2019.
Tritt and Sope Creek were the only two schools from the Cobb County School District to earn the distinction this year. Tritt previously was named a Blue Ribbon School in 2013 and Sope Creek in 1988.
Since 1982 the Blue Ribbon awards have been given out to more than 9,000 schools. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Education notes:
“The National Blue Ribbon School award affirms the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging content. The National Blue Ribbon School flag gracing an entry or flying overhead is a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning.”
Tritt and Sope Creek have been among the highest-performing elementary schools in Cobb, according to most recent testing results. In last year’s College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) scores, Sope Creek’s overall score of 92.2 was third in the county, while Tritt students rated at 84.7, or seventh (previous ECN story here).
The CCRPI is a state accountability measure that gauges overall achievement results and how schools are preparing students for the next level of education. The 2019 CCRPI scores will be released next month.
Tritt also rated in the Top 10 in the Cobb school district on the most recent Georgia Milestones assessment where 97 percent of students scored levels 2-4.
They’re the latest East Cobb public schools to be added to the list of Blue Ribbon Schools. Dickerson and Dodgen middle schools were the last, in 2017.
The Cobb County School District said in a release that at Sope Creek:
” . . . teachers and staff use the Professional Learning Community (PLC) process to ensure that every student reaches their highest potential. Sope Creek students are some of the highest performing in Georgia partially because of the supporting partnership with parents and the community.”
“Tritt partners with local businesses for volunteer support, funding for special events, and STEAM partnerships. Each grade level works to build a partnership with a local business to solve a problem that connects to their grade level science standards. This becomes the year-long STEAM focus.”
Tritt and Sope Creek also were honored as “Exemplary High Performing Schools,” which goes to schools that “are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.”
Both schools have STEM programs, and Tritt is undertaking measures to expand its STEM certification to include the arts, called STEAM, which only one other Cobb elementary school has earned (as well as Wheeler High School).
In 2018, Mt. Bethel Christian Academy was the first private school in East Cobb to achieve that honor.
Here’s a longer roster of all the Blue Ribbon School winners from East Cobb:
- 2016: Mt. Bethel Elementary School;
- 2013: Tritt Elementary School;
- 2011: Timber Ridge Elementary School;
- 2009: Hightower Trail Middle School;
- 2008: Mabry Middle School;
- 2007: Walton High School;
- 2003: Dickerson Middle School;
- 2001: Shallowford Falls Elementary School;
- 2000: Lassiter High School;
- 1996: Sprayberry High School;
- 1994: Eastvalley Elementary School;
- 1992: McCleskey Middle School;
- 1990: East Cobb Middle School;
- 1988: Murdock Elementary School; Sope Creek Elementary School;
- 1986: Mt. Bethel Elementary School;
- 1984: Walton High School.
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