A Bensonhurst School Program Wins National Blue Ribbon Award

Rachel Silberstein -

The Academy of Talented Scholars (TAOTS) P.S. 682 in Bensonhurst was recognized — along with 334 other schools nationwide — as a 2015 National Blue Ribbon School based on its overall academic excellence, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced.

Founded in 2009, TAOTS — which shares its colorful modern building at 50 Avenue P with the Brooklyn School of Inquiry and a District 75 school — is a choice school known for its hand-on educational approach and focus on the arts. Boasting an ASD Nest Program, the relatively small K-5 program is comprised of 5 percent English language learners and 21 percent special education students. The school uses a Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM), typically reserved for gifted children, where students to break off into small “clusters” to study electives of their choosing.

Schools that qualified for the Blue Ribbon distinction were recognized in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, subgroup student scores, and graduation rates:

  • Exemplary High Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests. Student subgroup performance and high school graduation rates are also at the highest levels.
  • Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s subgroups and all students over the past five years. Student subgroup performance and high school graduation rates for each subgroup are at high levels.

In southern Brooklyn, Coney Island’s P.S. 100 and Gerritson Beach’s P.S. 277 were also awarded the 2015 Blue Ribbon as Exemplary High Performing Schools. These exceptional schools demonstrate that all students can achieve to high levels, according to Duncan.

“This honor recognizes your students’ accomplishments and the hard work and dedication that went into their success,” Duncan said in a video message to the awardees. “Your journey has taught you collaboration, intentional instruction, and strong relationships in school and with your community. You represent excellence — in vision, in implementation, and in results — and we want to learn as much as we can from you.”

In its 33-year history, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed the coveted award on more than 8,000 of America’s schools. The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students either achieve very high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap. The award flag gracing a school’s building has become a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning.

The U.S. Department of Education will honor 285 public and 50 private schools at a recognition ceremony on November 9 and 10 in Washington, D.C.