September 17, 2004
I am pleased to announce that Centennial Lane Elementary School in Ellicott City has been selected as a National No Child Left Behind/Blue Ribbon School. The NCLB/Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a national and state program that recognizes and honors schools that exhibit high performance and/or significant improvement in reading and mathematics achievement as measured by the Maryland School Assessments (MSA). This is an extremely prestigious recognition and Centennial Lane was one of only six Maryland schools to receive the award.
Centennial Lane can take pride in being one of the state's highest performing schools as measured by the MSAs. Recently released 2004 MSA Reading Test results show that 94.9 of the school's third graders scored at the proficient level or above; 99.1 percent of fourth graders scored at the proficient level or above; and 97.4 percent of fifth graders scored at the proficient level or above. Centennial Lane's results on the MSA Mathematics Test were equally impressive. The percentage of students scoring at the proficient level or above was 90.5 for third graders, 95.5 for fourth graders, and 95.7 for fifth graders.
The school was recognized in October 1997 by Baltimore Magazine as one of the area's best elementary schools and received a Maryland School Recognition Grant in 2000 for outstanding student achievement.
Congratulations to the entire Centennial Lane school community!
Sydney L. Cousin
Superintendent of Schools
November 18, 2003
Dear Centennial Lane Community,
It is with pride I announce, the Maryland State Department of Education has named Centennial Lane Elementary School as one of six Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools. This is based on our academic performance over the last three years. Superintendent John O’Rourke, Deputy Superintendent Kimberly Statham, Board of Education members Sandra French and Patricia Gordon made a visit to our school today to announce this prestigious award.
Along with six other schools we will represent the State of Maryland as the United States Department of Education prepares to announce the national “Blue Ribbon” schools. The state named three schools in the upper 10% of student achievement and three schools that were most improved based on state testing from 2001, 2002, and 2003. As you may already know Centennial Lane has consistently scored in the top 10% in school achievement over the last several years. We have been invited to submit an application for the national award and will take on this task over the next several months.
This recognition comes with the realization that this staff, this community, and this student population contribute to a team effort to create a wonderful learning community. In addition to achievement, this school excels in so many other areas of student life. Our academic program, our related arts programs, and our after school activities help to create a well balanced opportunity for every child. As I have mentioned before, I don’t need anyone to tell me I have a “Blue Ribbon’ school. I see it every day. I see it in the efforts and smiles of our students. I see it in the commitment and hard work from our staff. I see it in the concern and support of our parents. It is always nice to hear that someone else realizes that there is a gem of a school on Centennial Lane. This is a wonderful 30th Anniversary gift. It is a gift of recognition and I want to thank all of you for your contribution to our efforts.
Sincerely,
Robert C. Bruce
Principal