Principal Alison Lee might appear to have the school district equivalent of the Midas touch: Each of the last three elementary schools that she's led has won the state's coveted Blue Ribbon for excellence.
Even as she prepares to accept the award next month at Broadneck Elementary School in Arnold, Lee insisted she is just lucky.
"I can't say that there's any magic dust that I sprinkled around," she said.
Lee said all three schools had key elements in place that she nurtured: strong parent involvement, experienced faculty, and students who come to school ready to learn. Lee said she has tried to infuse humor into the school with jokes during morning announcements and schoolwide events such as "crazy sock" day.
"I know when I come to work, I have to love it," Lee said. "I have to laugh all day and smile."
Lee, 50, of Annapolis came to Broadneck two years ago. She had been principal at Folger McKinsey Elementary School for four years and at Jones Elementary School for another four. Those two Severna Park schools also won Blue Ribbons on the state and federal levels.
The Maryland State Department of Education State confers Blue Ribbon status on six schools a year. Schools are recognized for academics, teacher retention, parental involvement and staff support. Academically, they must be consistently ranked in the top 10 percent of state schools or the most improved on standardized exams. In both categories, state officials look at data gathered during the past three years. Schools that need to improve must show "dramatic gains" in math, reading or other areas, according to the Education Department's Web site.
At least 95 percent of Broadneck's third-, fourth- and fifth-graders scored at proficient or advanced levels on the Maryland School Assessment reading and math exams during the 2006-2007 school year.
This is the 12th time that Anne Arundel County schools have won a state Blue Ribbon, and the first in the Broadneck feeder system.
Blue Ribbon schools are allowed to apply for a more prestigious national Blue Ribbon award. In both cases, government dignitaries visit the schools and award the blue flags. Administrators at state blue ribbon schools will be feted with a state dinner in Annapolis and recognized on the floor of the General Assembly in March.
