CSA Lincoln special education teacher Desiree Shaw, left-right, Principal Brett Findley and Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. Superintendent Jim Roberts are shown with the national Blue Ribbon School Award.
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. officials traveled to Washington, D.C. to represent Columbus Signature Academy Lincoln as the school received a national honor.
The 2021 award ceremony for the National Blue Ribbon Schools program took place Thursday and Friday at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland. The event recognized 325 schools who were announced as 2021 honorees in September, including CSA Lincoln and six other Indiana schools.
National Blue Ribbon awards are based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Lincoln was nominated for the latter.
The 2021 Blue Ribbon Schools from Indiana are:
CSA Lincoln (Columbus), Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.
Deputy Elementary School (Deputy), Madison Consolidated Schools
Thorpe Creek Elementary School (Fishers), Hamilton Southeastern Schools
Grassy Creek Elementary School (Indianapolis), MSD Warren Township School District
Lake Prairie Elementary School (Lowell), Tri-Creek School Corp.
Van Buren Elementary School (Nashville), Brown County School Corp.
Swanson Traditional School (South Bend), South Bend Community School Corp.
BCSC shared on social media that Superintendent Jim Roberts, CSA Lincoln Principal Brett Findley and special education teacher Desiree Shaw traveled to Washington to represent the school.
The group didn’t hide their excitement during Friday’s award ceremony. When CSA Lincoln was called, Roberts and Shaw danced across the stage to pop music playing in the background and posed back to back before Findley jumped out and proudly held up the school’s award plaque.
According to a preliminary agenda on the program’s website, the two-day event also included an opportunity to network with other educators, presentation of the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding Leadership winners, a session on mental health, workshops led by guest presenters and a panel on leadership featuring Bell Award winners.
Speakers included U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Deputy Secretary Cynthia Marten, NBRS Director Aba Kumi, 2021 Teacher of the Year Juliana Urtubey and clinical psychologist Christopher Willard.
