Belmont Station Named National Blue Ribbon School
Excellence is not an accident.
That’s exemplified by the eight-year journey Belmont Station Elementary took to being named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.
Only 11 Virginia schools received this honor for 2011. TheBlue Ribbon Schools Programhonors public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement.
Belmont Station Principal Patricia McGinly said the Blue Ribbon designation is something she has sought since the school opened in 2004.
“As soon as we realized what kind of staff we had put together…I knew we could compete. The staff was just so excellent; I knew we would compete…
“Truly, this is the culmination of a career spent devoted to instruction and achievement…
“This was the gold ring. This is what I was reaching for…You can’t just say you’re the best, you can’t pronounce yourself the best…The fact is you have to have recognition from outside sources.’…
“This says to everybody ‘Look what we can accomplish when we work together.’ ”
McGinly stressed that, in no way, does she consider this an individual achievement.
“I wanted an achievement that honored everyone’s efforts together. I didn’t want an individual achievement. I didn’t want an individual honor. I wanted something that said ‘Look at what all of us – parents, support staff (can do working together) …
“I haven’t done this alone…The school is too big.”
McGinly takes great pride that everyone at Belmont Station takes a leadership role when it comes to promoting student achievement.
“That’s the only way to successfully get people to follow you. If you’re running ahead and expecting to yell back orders…People follow you when you’re in the thick of it and when you’re yelling ahead to them.”
McGinly especially praised her assistant principal, Lori Mercer, who has been with her since the school opened. (Belmont Station has grown both in students – 550 to 850 – and diversity during its brief history.)
McGinly said the secret to Belmont Station’s academic success is not waiting to make changes when teachers detect problems in the classroom.
“If you wait until you get your SOL scores at the end of the year to plan what you’re going to fix, you’re behind…At the end of the first quarter, when the first benchmarks come in and we get the first teacher input, we re-group, we re-assign, whatever it takes.”
McGinly said students are re-grouped to accommodate and maximize different learning styles. She added students may be re-grouped several times in the same year if that’s what it takes to boost achievement.
“That’s big work. The easiest thing to do is place the kids…and then say to the teachers ‘Here’s the staff development that we’re providing, implement it.’ The hardest thing to do is say ‘We’re meeting; give me the feedback. What’s going on? Who’s not learning? Why aren’t they learning? I’m having great success with this student; why don’t we pair these two together?’…
“If you’re going to win a blue ribbon, you have to know what needs changing before June. You need to look in September and say ‘This needs to be changed before I get to November, not May.’ When the SOL tests come out, it’s too late. You’ve got to know by Christmas where you’re going to make some moves, where you’re going to make some changes.”
Parent buy-in is critical to making re-grouping work.
“Our parent community knows to expect to get a note that says ‘Your child has been moved’…at any moment.”
Re-grouping is rarely made because of behavior incidents, McGinly said. It’s done to maximize student achievement. “It’s hard work. But when you’re working this hard, you hope to get some good results.”
Long before the Blue Ribbon designation, McGinly was touting her school’s achievement. She got a natural way to do this when the school system gave Belmont Station the internal designation BST. McGinly quickly added a small “e” to the designation and proclaimed her school the BeST.
“They made a big mistake making BST our internal mailing address. It was such easy pickings for me… I’m proud for my school. I only prayed that it would become the best.”
McGinly (modesty aside) is the driving force behind Belmont Station’s educational philosophy. She’s quick to point out that two of her former principals – Wayne Mills at Rolling Ridge and Ron Dyer at Sanders Corner – shaped that philosophy.
“One taught me to be more patient than I ever thought I could be and one taught me to be more of a go-getter than I ever thought I could be.”
McGinly also praised the late Laurie McDonald, a longtime Loudoun elementary principal, for helping to shape her administrative career. When McGinly first became principal (at Cool Spring Elementary), she said McDonald sent her monthly packets outlining what a principal should be doing.
McDonald’s friendship became particularly treasured after McGinly’s son, Mark, died in the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. McGinly said McDonald wrote her a poignant note every September 11th. This September, McGinly received a note from McDonald’s sister and daughter. They said McDonald had instructed them to continue the tradition before her death April 3rd.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program was established in 1982 to honor the country’s most successful schools. The U.S. Department of Education will honor the nation’s 255 public and 49 private 2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools during a conference and awards ceremony November 14-15 in Washington, D.C. Since 1982, more than 6,500 schools nationwide have received federal Blue Ribbon designations.
Three other LCPS schools – Meadowland Elementary (2003), Leesburg Elementary (2005) and Lincoln Elementary (2010) – have received this designation.
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Posted by Resident
on Oct 4 2011. Filed under Loudoun County.
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