Kennedy Primary Academy in South Bend gets top national honor

December 06, 2010|By Dustin Grove (grove@wsbt.com)

South Bend — In a fourth-grade classroom at Kennedy Primary Academy Monday morning, students were learning about decimals and rounding. Numbers filled the chalkboard.

But it’s a different set of numbers that students and teachers throughout the building are celebrating that have earned them an national honor to be proud of.

“It is an amazing award to receive, not only for the school but for the South Bend Community School Corporation,” said kindergarten teacher Jennifer Veldman.

Kennedy, a school for gifted and talented students throughout the city, is among only 264 schools in the country to be named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education.

Nominees must show academic improvement or consistently high test scores for five years. Principal Christine Torok said student scores at Kennedy were consistently higher than the 95^th percentile.

“You think just because students are coming to Kennedy that it's all natural ability. But it's a lot of work," said Torok. “It's a lot of work to keep that high-achieving score going. It's a lot of hard work with the teachers, the students, and the parents.”

It’s work in an urban school corporation they’re proud of.

“We are part of South Bend's public schools and proudest probably of that more than anything else," said Torok.

Kennedy is among nine schools in the state to receive the honor this year – including Northpoint Elementary School, part of the Penn-Harrison-Madison School Corporation.

“I am so proud of the students who attend these nine Blue Ribbon Schools,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett said in a statement issued by the Department of Education. “At the same time, I applaud the great educators and administrators at these schools who made academic achievement a top priority and challenged their students to succeed.”

Monday night, trustees will hold a special ceremony for current Kennedy students, teachers, and parents, as well as alumni.

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