GALLATIN VALLEY — Monforton students and staff celebrated academic excellence on Wednesday after receiving the National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award last fall.
Monforton School said it is the only school in the state of Montana to receive the accolade last year.
“During the COVID pandemic, when there was a lot of national news about a decrease in student performance on test scores, our kids continued to do really well,” said Superintendent Darren Strauch. “They continue to get a great education here [and it] is something that we're really proud of.”
Parent and Wildcat Supporters (or PAWS) is akin to a parent-teacher organization.
Superintendent Strauch said the help of 20+ PAWS members made the celebration possible.
“We just started planning this assembly and it's kind of a party for our students because they're amazing and our teachers are amazing as well, and so we just wanted to recognize and celebrate them,” said PAWS President Denise Hartel.
The Blue Ribbon is given out to schools based on a few qualifications, Superintendent Strauch began.
“It's really to focus on school districts that are consistently high achieving in test scores; reading and math, and/or school districts that have closed achievement gaps for the student subgroups.”
Monforton is one of 297 school districts around the country to receive the honor, he added.
“It's great to see that there's great education in the Gallatin Valley and we're just super honored to be the one who was chosen,” the district shared.
