A Danbury school has been named a 2020 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.

South Street School was recognized for Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing.  More than half of the K-5 students at South Street School are English learners. Overall enrollment is nearly 400 students, and 87.2 percent of the students are from economically disadvantaged families.

State Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona says South Street educators understand the challenges their students face, and they are dedicated to meeting their needs. Teachers use “big data” like test scores to frame a problem, but student work provides educators with the necessary detail to correctly identify the problem or misunderstanding and in turn, generate instructional solutions.

The school-wide daily 30-minute WIN (What I Need) block is a key structural piece in place at South Street School to meet the needs of all students whether they need intervention or acceleration. The WIN block is designed so that no student is removed from their class during core content instruction. Cardona says the effort is successful because of the commitment and “all hands on deck” approach of the professionals in the building including teachers, coaches, English learner specialists, and special education staff. This highly coordinated time used to provide “expert support” to students is a school priority. As a result, students are showing strong academic growth, and the school has been identified as a School of Distinction by the CSDE for three of the last four years.