Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School named one of the best in the nation

Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School, located in Liberty Township, Ohio, has been named a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.

The Department of Education says that National Blue Ribbon Schools “are on education’s cutting edge, pioneering innovative educational practices from professional learning communities and project-based learning to social and emotional learning and positive behavior systems.”

Precious Blood Sister Anne Schulz has led the school as principal since its founding. It now serves 535 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

“What an honor for the MTCES family!” Sister Anne said. “It takes a whole village to raise a child, and it takes a whole community to have a successful school. MTCES has worked so hard to keep its standards high and earn the Blue Ribbon award.”

Nationwide, 300 public and 49 nonpublic schools received the honor this year. MTCES is one of just 16 Blue Ribbon Schools in Ohio.

After achieving scores in the top 15 percent in the nation in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics as measured by a nationally normed test, Mother Teresa staff and board members, led by junior high English teacher Amanda Ocariz, completed an extensive application process. The school was then nominated by the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) to the Department of Education.

“Sister Anne has always said that Mother Teresa students are amazing individuals who excel in so many areas. Earning the Blue Ribbon honor has validated all of Sister Anne’s hard work and the dedication of Mother Teresa teachers, students and parents,” Ocariz said. “Mother Teresa School has always been driven by the idea that students can achieve anything when given the tools for success, and they certainly showed that with earning the Blue Ribbon award.”

“While MTCES has had many notable achievements in its short existence, the 2018 National Blue Ribbon award is recognition of tireless effort from faculty, staff, students and parents since the beginning,” said MTCES Board Chairperson Brian James. “Not bad for an independent school that just two decades ago consisted of only 20 kindergartners and a teacher in a church basement! On behalf of the MTCES board of trustees both past and present, congratulations and a sincere thank you to those groups for all you have done to make it happen.”

Recognition ceremonies, as well as presentations and small group discussions, were held Nov. 7-8 in Washington, D.C.

– Story by MTCES

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