By By MARCIA STEFFENS / Edwardsburg Argus
EDWARDSBURG - This is one kind of blue the Edwardsburg Public Schools are glad and proud to be.
Eagle Lake Elementary School was the final piece and has officially received the title of Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary School.
With the selection of Eagle Lake, all of the Edwardsburg buildings have received this distinction - making the Edwardsburg School District the only one in the state to have accomplished this feat.
The process entailed many brainstorming sessions and pairing down the answers to specific questions, as they were limited to 30 pages of copy.
Now the staff might "take a breath," Hendress added, "but we still have young people depending on us.
They also had to show improvement, the "indicators of academic success," Hendress said.
Their next challenge will be changes in the MEAP test which will be given to the second and third graders in the fall.
Sherman Ostrander, the superintendent for the Edwardsburg District, "created the environment," Hendress said, "with high expectations.
A celebration of the Blue Ribbon status will be held when arrangements are complete.
There were 32 elementary schools recognized this year, and included Sam Adams Elementary in Cassopolis, the first of its district's school to achieve this honor.
Elementary and secondary schools complete on alternate years. The program began in 1982.
Schools in Edwardsburg were awarded Blue Ribbons as follows: High School, 1993-1994, Primary, 1998-1999, Middle School, 1999-2000, and the Intermediate, 2002-2003.