HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Last year, Hanceville Middle School received the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence (BRSE) designation of “Beacon.” This year, the school has improved on different aspects to be upgraded to the “Lighthouse” designation. This means that the school has received Excellent ratings in all nine categories examined by the BRSE:
- Student Focus and Support
- School Organization and Culture
- Challenging Standards and Curriculum
- Active Teaching and Learning
- Technology Integration
- Professional Community
- Leadership and Educational Vitality
- School, Family, and Community Partnerships
- Indicators of Success
Principal Daniel Wakefield said last year’s evaluation involved the BSRE interviewing students, teachers and parents to get an overall feel for the way the school is seen, evaluating the school’s safety and athletics programs, examining its standardized test scores and many other evaluations for the nine criteria above. The findings left HMS with a list of areas to work on for this year’s evaluation, such as creating a period for student clubs, improving standardized test scores and improving the school’s overall look by decorating the halls.
Wakefield was pleased with the way the HMS staff all came together to reach the Lighthouse designation, saying, “This was a total team effort all the way from the central office to every member of our staff. The central office prepped us for what to expect and gave us some great ideas on what to do before the process started last year. The staff was great and bought into being the best that we could be. Everything from improving how we did things in the classroom to planting flowers out front, it was great to see everyone come together and give this our best shot. We very much have a family atmosphere at HMS and that played a major role in why we are now proud to be a Lighthouse school.”
The school will receive its award and Blue Ribbon Lighthouse banner at the BSRE National Conference in Orlando Dec. 15.
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