Eleven local schools received the honor from the United States Department of Education (DOE) of being named to the 2018, list of National Blue Ribbon winners. Ancillae-Assumpta Academy was named a National Blue Ribbon School for the fourth time in its history.
The academy is the only elementary schools in Pennsylvania chosen as a Blue Ribbon School four times. Ancillae-Assumpta Academy was first recognized by the DOE in 1986, followed by 1991, and later in 2010. It’s also the first elementary school in Pennsylvania to ever be named a Blue Ribbon school.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students achieve very high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap. This year, the academy is one of only 349 schools being named nationally.
“We are so pleased to be named a National Blue Ribbon School for the fourth time,” said Amy Lintner, Ancillae-Assumpta Academy director. “Receiving this award again in 2018, is a tremendous honor and a wonderful testament to our committed faculty, who provide a supportive foundation for nurturing and fostering our students’ personal and educational growth.”
The school’s educational philosophy, known as R.I.C.E., promotes an integral understanding and practice of shared Responsibility, human Interdependence, dynamic Creativity, and people Empowerment. Through this philosophy, the students learn in theory and experience to appreciate the importance of a global viewpoint and to see the interrelatedness of peoples, which prepares them for the challenges and demands of the future.
Ancillae-Assumpta Academy’s teachers promote personalization, collaboration, and experimentation in the classroom. The school’s STEM curriculum, students engage in hands-on experimentation, problem-solving, coding, augmented reality, virtual reality, and engineering. The faculty focuses on the meaningful integration of technology to extend and enrich student achievement and to reach the diverse learning needs of our students.
The eleven winners in the Philadelphia region included Albert M. Greenfield Elementary and William M. Meredith Elementary, Philadelphia; Ancillae-Assumpta Academy, Wyncote; Mater Dei Catholic School, Lansdale; Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School, Maple Glen; Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School, Doylestown; Saint Joseph/Saint Robert Catholic School, Warrington; Saint Jude Catholic School, Chalfont; Saint Katharine Drexel Catholic School, Southampton; Saint Mary Magdalen Catholic School, Media; and Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School, West Chester.