Blue ribbon

Fort Recovery Middle School has been named a National Blue Ribbon School for 2023, an honor given to only 353 schools nationally and 19 schools in Ohio.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the award recipients Tuesday, recognizing schools based on their overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student groups.

“It’s quite the honor,” said Fort Recovery Local Schools superintendent Tony Stahl. “It does not come along very often and it is definitely something that is mostly a credit to our hardworking students and dedicated staff and hardworking community members … it’s a culmination of that effort.”

In the last four decades, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has given approximately 10,000 awards to more than 9,700 schools.

“The honorees for our 2023 National Blue Ribbon Schools Award have set a national example for what it means to Raise the Bar in education,” said United States Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in a press release. “The leaders, educators, and staff at our National Blue Ribbon Schools continually inspire me with their dedication to fostering academic excellence and building positive school cultures that support students of all backgrounds to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.”

According to the Ohio Department of Education’s website, Fort Recovery Middle School scored 5 stars on its overall rating for the 2023 Ohio School Report Cards. The measurement considered achievement, progress and gap closing components for middle schools.

Stahl pointed out Fort Recovery Local Schools has been focused on helping its students grow based on where they are academically.

“It’s good to see some of the fruits of that labor come to fruition,” he said.

Forty of those honored Tuesday were private schools, while 313 were public. The majority (about 74% of public schools and 75% of private schools) of recipients were elementary schools. (No private middle schools were selected this year.)

Fort Recovery Middle School was one of 29 middle schools in the country to be recognized. It was nominated in the spring for the award as an Exemplary High Performing School.

Ryan Steinbrunner, who transitioned his role as principal from Fort Recovery Middle School to Fort Recovery High School in August, noted the application process took about two months to complete, culminating in a 14-page summary of the school’s achievements and programs. 

He highlighted those involved with the school system through the years.

“It’s awesome living in this community,” said Steinbrunner. “To have the staff and the students and the community receive this award is just a testament to the years of work for everyone involved.”

Other Ohio public schools honored included East Elementary School in Mount Vernon, Granville Middle School in Granville, Kensington Intermediate School in Rocky River, Lake Middle/High School in Uniontown, Northwest Middle School in Canal Fulton, Orchard Middle School in Solon, Ragersville Elementary School in Sugarcreek, Robert C Lindsey Elementary School in Chesterland, Robinwood Lane Elementary School in Youngstown, Walnut Elementary School in Ashville, Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati and Western Reserve Elementary School in Berlin Center.

“Think of all the lives touched and transformed by these schools,” said Deputy United States Secretary of Education Cindy Marten in an announcement video posted online for award recipients. “From the program’s earliest days, National Blue Ribbon Schools have paved the way to academic excellence. As educators, you’ve proven time and again your ability to reach, teach, motivate and empower students to overcome hurdles and share their unique gifts with the world.”