2011 - Blue Ribbon Schools Program
A Private School
School Type (Public Schools):
(Check all that apply, if any) /
Charter /
Title 1 /
Magnet /
Choice
Name of Principal: Mrs. Jennifer Bigelow
Official School Name: The Franciscan School
School Mailing Address: / 10000 St Francis DrRaleigh, NC 27613-5954
County: Wake County / State School Code Number:
Telephone: (919) 847-8205 / E-mail:
Fax: (919) 847-9558 / Web URL: http://www.franciscanschool.org
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.
______Date ______
(Principal’s Signature)
Name of Superintendent*: Dr. Michael Fedewa Superintendent e-mail:
District Name: Diocese of Raleigh District Phone: (919) 821-9700
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
______Date ______
(Superintendent’s Signature)
Name of School Board President/Chairperson: Mrs. Angela Hampton-Hale
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
______Date ______
(School Board President’s/Chairperson’s Signature)
*Private Schools: If the information requested is not applicable, write N/A in the space.
The original signed cover sheet only should be converted to a PDF file and emailed to Aba Kumi, Blue Ribbon Schools Project Manager () or mailed by expedited mail or a courier mail service (such as Express Mail, FedEx or UPS) to Aba Kumi, Director, Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Office of Communications and Outreach, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Room 5E103, Washington, DC 20202-8173.
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PART I - ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION / 11PV207The signatures on the first page of this application certify that each of the statements below concerning the school’s eligibility and compliance with U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) requirements is true and correct.
1. The school has some configuration that includes one or more of grades K-12. (Schools on the same campus with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an entire school.)
2. The school has made adequate yearly progress each year for the past two years and has not been identified by the state as "persistently dangerous" within the last two years.
3. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the state's Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement in the 2010-2011 school year. AYP must be certified by the state and all appeals resolved at least two weeks before the awards ceremony for the school to receive the award.
4. If the school includes grades 7 or higher, the school must have foreign language as a part of its curriculum and a significant number of students in grades 7 and higher must take the course.
5. The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 2005.
6. The nominated school has not received the Blue Ribbon Schools award in the past five years: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010.
7. The nominated school or district is not refusing OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a district-wide compliance review.
8. OCR has not issued a violation letter of findings to the school district concluding that the nominated school or the district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes. A violation letter of findings will not be considered outstanding if OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to remedy the violation.
9. The U.S. Department of Justice does not have a pending suit alleging that the nominated school or the school district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes or the Constitution’s equal protection clause.
10. There are no findings of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a U.S. Department of Education monitoring report that apply to the school or school district in question; or if there are such findings, the state or district has corrected, or agreed to correct, the findings.
PART II - DEMOGRAPHIC DATA / 11PV207All data are the most recent year available.
DISTRICT
Questions 1 and 2 are for Public Schools only.SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)
3. / Category that best describes the area where the school is located: / Suburban4. / Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school: / 3
5. / Number of students as of October 1, 2010 enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school:
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total
PreK / 0 / 0 / 0 / 6 / 37 / 44 / 81
K / 38 / 26 / 64 / 7 / 49 / 29 / 78
1 / 34 / 32 / 66 / 8 / 37 / 45 / 82
2 / 37 / 42 / 79 / 9 / 0 / 0 / 0
3 / 44 / 33 / 77 / 10 / 0 / 0 / 0
4 / 37 / 40 / 77 / 11 / 0 / 0 / 0
5 / 30 / 46 / 76 / 12 / 0 / 0 / 0
Total in Applying School: / 680
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6. / Racial/ethnic composition of the school: / 1 / % American Indian or Alaska Native1 / % Asian
1 / % Black or African American
1 / % Hispanic or Latino
1 / % Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
93 / % White
2 / % Two or more races
100 / % Total
Only the seven standard categories should be used in reporting the racial/ethnic composition of your school. The final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic data to the U.S. Department of Education published in the October 19, 2007 Federal Register provides definitions for each of the seven categories.
7. / Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the 2009-2010 school year: / 1%This rate is calculated using the grid below. The answer to (6) is the mobility rate.
(1) / Number of students who transferred to the school after October 1, 2009 until the end of the school year. / 4
(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1, 2009 until the end of the school year. / 3
(3) / Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)]. / 7
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1, 2009 / 691
(5) / Total transferred students in row (3)
divided by total students in row (4). / 0.01
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100. / 1
8. / Percent limited English proficient students in the school: / 0%
Total number of limited English proficient students in the school: / 0
Number of languages represented, not including English: / 8
Specify languages:
Arabic, Spanish, Russian, French, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Filipino, Indonesian
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9. / Percent of students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: / 0%Total number of students who qualify: / 0
If this method does not produce an accurate estimate of the percentage of students from low-income families, or the school does not participate in the free and reduced-priced school meals program, supply an accurate estimate and explain how the school calculated this estimate.
10. / Percent of students receiving special education services: / 1%
Total number of students served: / 8
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional categories.
0 / Autism / 0 / Orthopedic Impairment
0 / Deafness / 0 / Other Health Impaired
0 / Deaf-Blindness / 5 / Specific Learning Disability
0 / Emotional Disturbance / 3 / Speech or Language Impairment
0 / Hearing Impairment / 0 / Traumatic Brain Injury
0 / Mental Retardation / 0 / Visual Impairment Including Blindness
0 / Multiple Disabilities / 0 / Developmentally Delayed
11. / Indicate number of full-time and part-time staff members in each of the categories below:
Number of Staff
Full-Time / Part-Time
Administrator(s) / 5 / 0
Classroom teachers / 30 / 2
Special resource teachers/specialists / 11 / 0
Paraprofessionals / 15 / 0
Support staff / 5 / 4
Total number / 66 / 6
12. / Average school student-classroom teacher ratio, that is, the number of students in the school divided by the Full Time Equivalent of classroom teachers, e.g., 22:1: / 22:1
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13. / Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. Only high schools need to supply graduation rates. Briefly explain in the Notes section any student or teacher attendance rates under 95% and teacher turnover rates over 12% and fluctuations in graduation rates.2009-2010 / 2008-2009 / 2007-2008 / 2006-2007 / 2005-2006
Daily student attendance / 96% / 96% / 96% / 96% / 96%
Daily teacher attendance / 98% / 97% / 97% / 98% / 97%
Teacher turnover rate / 3% / 3% / 4% / 2% / 5%
High school graduation rate / % / % / % / % / %
If these data are not available, explain and provide reasonable estimates.
14. / For schools ending in grade 12 (high schools): Show what the students who graduated in Spring 2010 are doing as of Fall 2010.
Graduating class size:
Enrolled in a 4-year college or university / %
Enrolled in a community college / %
Enrolled in vocational training / %
Found employment / %
Military service / %
Other / %
Total / 0 / %
PART III - SUMMARY / 11PV207
Entering the campus of The Franciscan School, one is greeted with a banner of St. Francis of Assisi with the word, “Welcome.” At The Franciscan School, being welcomed is a way of life. It is being greeted by the principal at the school gate every day. It is gathering in prayer every morning with over 700 students, teachers, parents, and community members. It is welcoming guest speakers into classrooms to talk about meteorology, their Holocaust experience, or what life as a homeless person was like for them. It is welcoming a new student mid-year in which her classmates shower her with welcome cards and make certain that she has a seat at the table at lunch. It is welcoming parents into the classroom to be “secret readers” or to share the Gospel. It is part of the mission of The Franciscan School – to joyfully welcome all those who come to us.
In welcoming others, The Franciscan School community extends a hand to many. The School extended their hand to:
· the broken when the third graders wrote cards of prayer to those in prison,
· to the lonely in which the eighth grade students created care packages for those afflicted with AIDS,
· to the aged when the fifth graders hosted the seniors in the community with an intergenerational tea
· to the hungry when the entire student body came together to bag 9,800 lunches for hungry children in Kenya,
· to the less fortunate when faculty members saw a need at a local parish and created a summer tutoring program.
While each of these activities is noble in their own right, it is a way of life at The Franciscan School. The question is never, “did you see what we did?” The question is always, “what more can we do?”
Nestled in the woods in North Raleigh, The Franciscan School, welcomes 680 students from 450 families to join in learning through the lens of faith. Founded in 2000, The Franciscan School is a vital and growing ministry of the Catholic Community of St. Francis of Assisi. The school campus is comprised of five classroom buildings, a Media Center, technology lab, agym, and the new Siena Center for Lifelong Learning which serves as the middle school building during the day equipped with two state of the art science labs and where all classrooms are equipped with Smart Boards.
At The Franciscan School, teaching is a ministry, and the 73 faculty and staff reflect this attitude. The educators share their diverse talents, encourage growth, and recognize that relationships with students and families go far beyond the role of formal education. It is not unusual for the teachers and staff to pack the stands to cheer on students at a game or be spotted in the audience at a recital for one of the students. The talented and dedicated staff includes four teachers/administrators who have served as adult leaders on mission trips, grant writers that have secured over $2000 in grants for the school, and two teachers who are graduates of the school.
One of the strategic initiatives for the parish and school is to foster collaboration. The teachers work tirelessly to collaborate with each other as well as with other parish ministries. In 2008, the inaugural Fr. David McBriar Collaborative Ministry Award was awarded to Mrs. Cheryl Stevens, fifth grade teacher, for her work in fostering collaboration between the school and parish around the area of social justice. Mrs. Stevens worked with others to develop a Social Justice curriculum and created a Social Justice Fair which was a culminating activity for students. To accomplish this, she worked with various parish ministries who provided resources, activities, and speakers for the students.