The U.S. Department of Education has recognized E.E. Jeter Elementary School as a National Blue Ribbon School.
The Shelby County School met the requirement that, “…students excel regardless of background or circumstances. “
Jeter is one of six schools in Tennessee to be recognized.
Only 269 schools in America were awarded National Blue Ribbon status.
E.E. Jeter will receive a $2,500 award and be honored during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in November. Blue Ribbon schools will also have their achievements published to the U.S. Department of Education website to serve as a model for schools nation-wide.
“Blue Ribbon schools are recognized for either having achievement scores in the top 10 percent of their state or for dramatically improving student achievement levels while having a poverty rate above 40 percent. E.E. Jeter is recognized as an “Exemplary High-Performing” school with a high poverty rate. Since 2007, the school’s poverty rate has almost doubled, with nearly 60 percent of students now qualifying as economically disadvantaged. Yet, the Title 1 school has a history of high achievement, having earned straight A’s in Achievement on the Tennessee Report Card for 10 consecutive years.”
According to Shelby County Schools, “Jeter has been able to maintain high achievement levels over the years due to focused and creative use of student interventions, small group learning and co-teaching strategies. Moreover, Principal Paulette Bond and her teaching team are committed to data-driven instruction, using assessments and benchmarking data to track individual student progress.”