National Blue Ribbon School

In November 2004, Aiken Elementary received word from the South Carolina State Department of Education that they had been nominated for the prestigious No Child Left Behind National Blue Ribbon School award.  Upon meeting Adequate Yearly Progress for the 2004-2005 school year, Aiken Elementary School was named a 2005 National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education.

The No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools program recognizes schools that make significant progress in closing the achievement gap or whose students achieve at very high levels. The schools are selected based on one of three criteria:

Under No Child Left Behind, schools must make Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, in reading and language arts and mathematics. Each state—not the federal government—sets its own academic standards and benchmark goals, because each state knows best what goals and criteria are most appropriate for its school districts.
Aiken Elementary School received the coveted Blue Ribbon status by performing in the top 10 percent of schools on the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test and by meeting AYP for the 2004-2005 school year.

In November 2005, Mrs. Cagle, Aiken Elementary School Principal, and Stacia Nuessle, Aiken Elementary Teacher of the Year, flew to Washington, DC for the 2005 National Blue Ribbon Schools awards ceremony.  During the weekend they met with Representative Grisham Barrett and attended the festivities honoring the National Blue Ribbon Schools.

Aiken County Public Schools 2005 National Blue Ribbon School Announcement

Aiken Elementary School 2050 Pine Log Road Aiken, SC 29803 803-641-2740