The U.S. Department of Education has recognized excellence in schools across the nation with the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program since 1982.
Now, Angier Elementary School in Newton has earned that honor.
“And the criteria for that recognition is that, in their state accountability and achievement data, they have received 97 percent or above on their accountability score and 70 percent or better at meeting targets with all subgroups within the school and in the aggregate,” Superintendent Anna Nolin said at Monday night’s School Committee meeting.
Schools must also have more than 20 percent of its students considered “high needs.”
Nolin credited the staff and leadership at Angier with the achievement, noting that Angier Principal Orla Higgins Averill—“Dr. H” as she’s known by students—has created an environment of “collaboration and trust, student-centered decisions, data-informed practice and continuous professional learning.”
Higgens Averill is using the MTSS (multiple tiered systems of support) model in Angier, which Nolin plans to grow to scale for use across the district.
“Indeed, our recent revamp of the elementary school day was designed and modeled on Angier’s work,” Nolin said.
Higgens Averill has been principal at Angier since 2020, promoted from vice principal. Before coming to Angier in 2014, she was a school psychologist and special education team chair in Quincy.
Higgens Averill said her work has been possible through the “extremely strong, positive culture that has been a hallmark of Angier for many, many years.”
“Anyone that walks into the Angier School can feel it. It’s warm. There’s a camaraderie,” Higgens Averill said.
Higgens Averill accepted the role of principal at Angiers just weeks before schools across the nation were closed for the COVID-19 pandemic.
This created a crisis unseen before in education, as well as an opportunity to reshape schools and learning in the post-pandemic world.
“I think that’s why our team feels so particularly proud and pumped about this, because the last five years were just filled with challenges—we all know how last year was—and we’ve been able to really strengthen an already strong culture, focusing on belonging.”