July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

An example we all should follow (02/18/08)

Editorial

vBeing named an Indiana Four Star School is an accomplishment.

Being named an Indiana Four Star School more than once is something to shout about.

But being named an Indiana Four Star School 10 times?

That's so extraordinary, so impressive, and so admirable that it's difficult to do justice to what has been achieved.

The Four Star School program was started by the Indiana Department of Education back in the 1990s in an effort to recognize those schools that achieved on both the language arts and mathematics portions of the ISTEP test and maintained extremely high attendance rates.

The hurdle is set high, which makes Bloomfield Elementary School's record all the more impressive.

Under the leadership of principal Dan Hoffman, the school has received the Four Star honor again this year. It also received the Four Star mark in the school years of 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1999-2000, 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2005-06.

If that doesn't make you say, "Wow," then read the preceding paragraph one more time.

Bloomfield's record is a tribute to hundreds of people. It's a tribute to the teachers, to the administration, to the support staff, and to the families who send their kids to that school.

It's also a tribute to the kids themselves, and they have real reason to be proud today.

What's especially exciting is that there's a conscious effort today on the part of Jay Schools to figure out how to build on that sort of success.

If things are clicking well at Bloomfield, maybe there are ideas that can be shared with other schools. If the key is strong, intact families who are supportive of education, that message needs to be delivered as well.

But it would be a mistake to let Bloomfield's excellence occur in a vacuum.

As the Jay School Board relentlessly repeats these days, if we are to be truly successful, it can't be about one or two schools. It has to be about a system of schools. - J.R.

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