Berkeley County School District is excited to share that Cross High has been nominated for the National Blue Ribbon School recognition.
This is a huge award that celebrates academic growth made by a school.
Now in its 38th year, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed nearly 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools, with some schools winning multiple awards. National Blue Ribbon Schools represent the full diversity of American schools: public schools including charter schools, magnet/choice schools, Title I schools, and non-public schools including parochial and independent schools. They are urban, suburban, and rural, large and small, traditional and innovative, and serve students of every social, economic and ethnic background.
There are two categories schools are nominated in for the recognition, and Cross High is part of the “Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing” category; these are schools that have made the greatest advances (top 15 percent) in closing subgroup achievement gaps in English and mathematics over the past three to five years, measured by state assessments. Cross High has been nominated based on academic gains achieved by its ninth through 12th grade students.
Principal Tiffany Brown, now in her second year of leading Cross High, said she is very excited for her students and teachers.
"Being nominated for the National Blue Ribbon Award is a testament to the dedication, passion and resilience of our students, teachers and staff,” she said. “This recognition reflects our unwavering commitment to excellence in education and the strong sense of community that makes our school special. We are incredibly proud and honored to be considered for this prestigious award."
The school was nominated by the South Carolina Department of Education, and such nominations go straight to the U.S. Department of Education. Cross High is one of five state schools nominated this year.
The school will now proceed with a formal application process for the award, and the results will likely be shared at the beginning of next school year.
Cross High is BCSD’s smallest high school in terms of population (279). As a small school, Brown said she hopes her students see they are fully capable of reaching the same success as anyone, including students at larger schools.
“I need the students to know that all of the pushing and pouring into them that we do here as a staff is always worth it in the end, and their hard work is paid off,” she said.