Lincoln Elementary principal Dan Dinkel talks about how much the National Blue Ribbon award means to him and his students. Lincoln Elementary was one of four Kansas elementary schools to receive the National Blue Ribbon honor this year. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Geary County Schools)
Four Kansas elementary schools are being recognized nationally for efforts to improve local learning.
The U.S. Department of Education announced that the schools are in this year’s cohort of more than 300 National Blue Ribbon Schools. They are Garfield Elementary in Augusta, Herington Elementary in Herington, Lincoln Elementary in Junction City and Sunflower Elementary in Paola.
Officials at each of the schools hosted all-class assemblies to announce their Blue Ribbon designations. In Paola, Sunflower Elementary principal Staci Wokutch said the atmosphere of the school was “pretty electric” after she told students the news.
“We did a quick assembly at the end of the day, and we kind of built up the story,” Wokutch said. “I played a bit of a video that shows the schools being honored. When Sunflower popped up, the kids cheered and clapped.”