While school report cards aren’t due out for another couple of weeks for the first grading period, the state of Ohio Board of Education has handed out its grade cards for schools statewide, and West Holmes School District got a real feather for its cap when Millersburg Elementary was honored with the Excellent with Distinction award.

For the 2010-2011 school year, there were a total of 3,415 schools which received a designation. Out of those schools, only 316 were honored with the Excellent with Distinction accolade.

According to Stan Heffner, superintendent of public instruction for the Ohio Department of Education, Ohio students and schools have been making great progress in their academic achievements, making long-term gains thanks in large part to higher expectations.

For Millersburg Elementary, the short-term gains are just as important as the long-term benefits, as the school can rejoice and continue to grow after the latest honor was bestowed upon them.

“That’s like our school getting an A-plus,” gushed Tim Wigton, Millersburg Elementary principal. “We passed all eight state indicators, meeting all the requirements. In order to get the Distinction part of it, we had to make more than was the expected growth in our fourth and fifth-grade students through a series of indicators. That means that our kids in fourth and fifth grade did better than their third grade tests indicated they would. The state can project what kind of growth the kids should be experiencing from their third grade tests, and our kids have gone above and beyond that, which is really exciting.”

With a large group of special needs children, and several large contingencies of sub-groups in the school, Wigton said that the challenges are many, but the staff has risen to the occasion and done a superb job of making education count.

The result is something special that both the students and the staff should relish, according to Wigton.

“This is a recognition that both our students and our staff have worked hard to improve,” said Wigton. “It’s a real boost to the school morale, and it is only through our staff’s efforts that we have been able to achieve this status. It definitely makes us feel that what we are striving to accomplish, and what we are doing here is making a difference in the lives of our students. Everyone has been walking around here with smiles because of it.”

Wigton also said that another factor has been the staff’s ability to work and interact with parents, something that cannot go overlooked in the success of the school.

“For something like this, it takes a lot of people working together,” said Wigton.

The banner was bestowed upon the school at the monthly school board meeting on Monday, Sept. 19. The honor was one which resounded throughout the district and brings a smile to the administration of the school district as well as those involved at Millersburg Elementary.

“They’ve made great growth in the areas where they have needed to in order to achieve this honor,” said Kris Pipes-Perone, West Holmes School District superintendent. “It’s a pretty special award for us, and we have done well as a whole. Across the district we have seen our teachers working hard, and the staffs have done a remarkable job. We’ve got great people in great places.”

The Excellent with Distinction honor at Millersburg Elementary led a solid showing from all of the district’s schools. West Holmes High School and Clark Elementary each received Excellent ratings from the state, while Nashville, Killbuck and Lakeville elementaries and West Holmes Middle School all were given Effective ratings.

“We’ve made some outstanding efforts and I love where we’re headed,” said Pipes-Perone. “The bar has been set.”

Rob Hovis, a member of the Ohio State School Board, who hails from Millersburg, said making such an important presentation to his hometown community is always enjoyable. Hovis, who presented the school with the School of Excellent with Distinction banner during the Monday, Sept. 19 West Holmes school board meeting, said it was an honor and pleasure to be able to present the banner, one of a number he has handed out throughout his district over the years. He did say, however, that the award did not surprise him.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Hovis of the honor. “It all starts with family values and good homes which have parents who care and support their children,” said Hovis. “We’ve got school staff and families that care about the quality of their children’s education. Plus, what really excites me is that we have a much lower per-pupil spending than most schools, which means we are educating our children well while keeping costs down. It’s an exciting award to be able to present.”