Pine Knob Elementary is one of 13 schools in Michigan and one of 335 in the nation earning 2015 National Blue Ribbon status by the U.S. Department of Education.
“One of the nice things is our school was nominated by the state for the award,” said Principal Jodi Yeloushan.
Schools are evaluated by MEAP test scores.
“Our scores have been stronger than state and county averages for the last six years” Yeloushan said.
Now in her sixth year leading the school, the principal will travel to Washington D.C in November to the accept the award.
Yeloushan credits parents, students, school staff and district leadership for having such a strong school. She also credits the district’s Cultures of thinking and Learning initiatives and the culture of the building implemented by Superintendent Dr. Rod Rock.
‘The staff really respect him for the work he is doing,” she said.
Cultures of thinking and learning is a belief system that focuses on being open-minded, communicating and thinking deeply. Yeloushan said staff at Pine Knob Elementary, and across the entire district, is working hard to present students with information in different ways to allow them to think.
“We want to cultivate a culture of thinkers. We want our students to respect and have cross cultural conversations. It’s all about realizing there is more than one way to get to an answer,” she said.
It’s working, she added.
“We do a good job. We don’t do all this work for accolades, we do it because it’s the right thing to do,” Yeloushan said.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States government program created in 1982 to honor schools which have achieved high levels of performance or made significant improvements in closing the achievement gap in schools where at least 40 percent of the student population is classified as disadvantaged.