Jayenne Elementary celebrates being named a 2023 Blue Ribbon School by U.S. Department of Education

FAIRMONT — Years of hard work were on display Thursday at Jayenne Elementary as officials celebrated the school being named a 2023 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.

In welcoming students and guests to the schoolwide assembly, Principal John Morris explained the school’s theme for the current academic year. The school’s corridors are adorned with painted imprints of students’ hands, which serve as a metaphor for the work required to be a successful school.

“That represents the hands that it takes to become a National Blue Ribbon School,” Morris said. “As you notice the hands that are here today are our students, our board [of education] members, our central office staff....So, arching over all of Jayenne are hands — the hands that it takes to be a great school and a great place to be for our students, our staff and our community. So, thank you.”

Morris said the path to national recognition began in February 2023 when he received a call from Marion County School Superintendent Donna Heston encouraging him to apply for the honor. He then assembled a team of educators who wrote and turned in the application to the U.S. Department of Education.

“We spent six or eight weeks coming up with an application through the template that we received. Thirty-eight pages to complete, so we worked some Saturdays and some evenings to put all that together,” Morris said.

He said in June that year, federal officials gave him and his team an opportunity to write just one revision of their application, but together, they had enough confidence in their work to forego any revisions and decided to move forward. In his 12th year as principal, Morris said the opportunity to apply for the National Blue Ribbon School honor was the culmination of years of achievements made by Jayenne teachers, students, staff and parents.

“So, really, at that point, it was a waiting game, because this was something[Blue Ribbon] that was looked at for many years prior to based on the achievement of Jayenne students,” Morris said. “And thankfully, we’ve had great achievement for many years, hence the opportunity to apply for a Blue Ribbon School.”

In September 2023, he learned the school had officially earned the honor.

Morris read from a letter he received from U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona commending the school for their honor.

“Each day, you encourage and guide students as they embark on a journey of lifelong learning,” Cardona wrote. “Your distinction as a 2023 National Blue Ribbon School is also a testament to your school’s intentional collaboration with parents, families, and your broader community to wrap students in care for their overall well-being and to provide them with rich, well-rounded, and engaging learning experiences.”

Speaking to guests at the assembly, Heston said Jayenne has experienced a steady increase in test scores in recent years, but it also has a great reputation for parental involvement. She said there was a recent event that was so well attended by parents that the event had to be split between the school and an off-campus venue because the parents couldn’t fit in the school at one time.

“You know, as I think about today ... I think of the fact that you made national recognition,” Heston said addressing the students. “Think about that. Schools and people all over the country know about Jayenne Elementary School because you are a Blue Ribbon School. That is huge. That is big for Marion County. That is big for the state of West Virginia. And that is big for you, most importantly, because of the hard work that you’ve done.”

Jayenne Elementary is one of only three West Virginia elementary schools to earn the honor of National Blue Ribbon School in 2023. Joining Jayenne are Boone County’s Sherman Elementary in Comfort, West Virginia and Ritchie Elementary in Wheeling.

“The word for me is that I am blessed to be part of Jayenne for the amount of time that I’ve been here — 12 years,” Morris said. “I’m very blessed for the experience and the career and the relationships that I’ve built with each of you. And like I began with hands — it takes many hands to be a Blue Ribbon School and to be Jayenne and pull off the things that we do. We all have special talents, so thank you from the bottom of my heart and I want you to know I am the blessed.”

Since the program’s inception 40 years ago, approximately 9,700 U.S. schools have received approximately 10,000 Blue Ribbon awards, some school multiple times.