A Tri-State school is taking top honors nationally these days.

The U.S. Department of Education named North Shelby High School a "Blue Ribbon" School.

The entire North Shelby student body attended a pep rally today, not for a sports team...but for achievements made in the classroom.

North Shelby High School is now known as a Blue Ribbon School. It was one of six schools the Missouri Department of Education nominated for the honor. The coveted recognition only went to 304 schools out of more than 135,000 public and private schools in the nation. Blue ribbon honors only go to high performing schools whose students rank in the top ten percent of state testing levels. Recognized schools also meet 14 yearly criteria based on things like attendance, graduation rates and dual credit courses taken by students. It's a big honor for a small school like North Shelby, whose high school only boasts 107 students.

Principal Harold Eckler says he's not surprised his students took home this honor.

Eckler said, "Students really care about academics and they value education. It's all about giving them wings so they can fly high. I think what sets us apart is our kids know they have the ability to do that. To me this speaks highly of our community to support our school so well with student athletics, academics and extracurricular activities."

Students say it's nice to see their hard work recognized.

Senior Evan McWilliams said, " It's a big deal for us. We've always heard we had a good school and now we're nationally recognized for it."

Each student took home a blue ribbon, a permanent reminder of what hard work can mean to small schools like theirs.

North Shelby was also recognized earlier this year in the state-level as a Gold Star School.

The other blue ribbon school in Missouri was in Christian County.

THE FOLLOWING IS A PRESS RELEASE: 

Two public high schools in Missouri have been selected as 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Wednesday. A total of 304 schools earned national honors this year, 254 public and 50 private, out of more than 135,000 public and private schools in the nation.

Among the Blue Ribbon schools are:

Chadwick High School

Chadwick R-I School District (Christian County)

Diana Comstock, principal

North Shelby High School

North Shelby School District (Shelby County)

Harold T. Eckler, principal

The award honors elementary, middle and high schools whose students achieve at very high levels or have made significant progress and helped close gaps in achievement, especially among disadvantaged and minority students.

“We commend the Chadwick and North Shelby high schools for this prestigious recognition,” said Commissioner of Education Chris L. Nicastro.  “Their students, teachers, school administrators and community members deserve accolades for attaining this high level of student achievement.”

The schools were recognized earlier this year in the state-level Gold Star Schools program, conducted by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

This year’s Blue Ribbon Schools winners will be formally recognized November 15-16 at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Eckler and Mrs. Kathy Jackson attended the ceremony in Washington D.C. this past Tuesday to accept the award on behalf of North Shelby High School.