Two Community Consolidated School District 15 elementary schools have been notified by the U.S. Department of Education that they are among 264 schools nationwide to earn the department's Blue Ribbon designation of excellence for 2000-01. Thomas Jefferson School in Hoffman Estates and Pleasant Hill School in Palatine join nine other schools in Illinois in achieving this prestigious honor this year. With these two new designations, one-third of the schools in District 15 now are recognized as National Blue Ribbon schools. We are even more proud that one-third of our schools have achieved that designation in the last few years. Selection of Blue Ribbon schools is based on an evaluation of written materials from the nominated schools and the reports of experiences principals and administrators who conducted site visits to the schools.
Reviewers make recommendations to the secretary of education for final selection.
Schools selected for recognition have each conducted a thorough self-evaluation involving administrators, teachers, students, parents and community representatives as part of the application process. This process included an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses and development of strategic plans for the future development of the school.