Blueprint for Excellence
School Improvement Process

How Is Your School Doing?
(Really doing?)

OVERVIEW

Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, Inc. (BRSE), has worked over the years to develop and refine a means for a school’s own stakeholders to assess the school’s performance and design program improvement initiatives focused on the results of that assessment.   The BRSE Blueprint for Excellence is designed to be a positive school improvement process that covers nine major categories of critical performance elements found in excellent schools (Student Focus and Support; School Organization and Culture; Challenging Standards and Curriculum; Active Teaching and Learning; Technology Integration; Professional Community; Leadership and Educational Vitality; School, Family, and Community Partnerships; Indicators of Success).

PROCESS

1. The school submits a letter of interest that provides specific information (see below).
2. The school administration completes an online demographic description of the school.
3. The school completes the online assessment tool. Building level administrators, certified staff members, support staff members, a sample of students, and a sample of parents and community stakeholders participate.
   • The validity and reliability of the process depends on honest responses from the entire school community.
   • The assessment is designed to assure completely confidential data collection. Individual responses are not tracked or reported -- only group responses.
   • The assessment can be completed in as little as one day, depending on the scheduling of your respondents.
4. Once all the data are compiled, experts at Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, Inc., prepare a final report that cites areas of success and areas in need of improvement, as reported by the school community. The report is reviewed in complete detail with the school and/or district administrators and includes:
   • Demographics Report
   • School Strengths Report
   • No Consensus Report
   • Critical Areas Report
   • Action Plan Report
   • Student Grade Level Report
   • Total Accumulation of Data Report
   • Lighthouse Eligibility Schematic
5. A site visitor comes to the school to validate the results by reviewing data, meeting with school representatives, and observing classrooms.
6. An additional site visit may be conducted, if needed, to validate improvement gains suggested by the assessment.
7. The school may decide to develop an improvement plan with assistance from representatives of Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, Inc.

COSTS

• Costs for participation in the assessment are determined based on the number of students in the school as shown in the chart below. Schools also will be responsible for expenses (transportation, lodging, meals, etc.) for the site visitor(s) conducting the assessment.

School Size	Cost
500 students or less	$5,500
501-999 students	$7,500
1000 – 1,499 students	$9,500
1,500+ students	To be negotiated
International Rate	$9,500 plus travel time

• Followup site visit validation  (if necessary):    $1,500 per day plus expenses.
• Individualized Consultative Support (if desired):  $1,500 per day plus expenses.

 NOTE: Rates are subject to change. Please confirm costs at time of scheduling.

THE BLUE RIBBON LIGHTHOUSE SCHOOL AWARD

The Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School Award is a recognition program for schools of excellence offered by Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, Inc., and is not designed as a typical application process. Schools are identified and selected for this award based on achievement of excellent performance in all nine major categories of the Blueprint for Excellence. Schools achieving excellence in less than nine of the categories are eligible for the “Points of Light” Award. Schools will be notified of their selection soon after successful completion of the assessment process and honored in an awards ceremony at the annual Blue Ribbon Schools Blueprint for Excellence Conference in December.

THE BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS BLUEPRINT FOR EXCELLENCE CONFERENCE

Educators, parents, students and community members are encouraged to attend the Blue Ribbon Schools Blueprint for Excellence National Conference to share best practices and learning strategies, and seek programs, guidance, and support for continuous improvement. Presentations for the Blue Ribbon Schools Blueprint for Excellence Conference are designed and conducted by educators for educators. Topics are organized within nine major categories determined to be relevant to school success and correlated to the Blueprint for Excellence. Sustained growth toward mutually agreed upon goals best comes from within an organization. In developing schools of excellence each school should have a plan of action for achieving these goals. This conference is designed to nurture individualized assistance to help schools develop or implement comprehensive school improvement plans.

LETTER OF INTENT FORMAT

A Letter of Intent must be submitted on your school or district letterhead. Please note that a school should be in existence for at least two years prior to undertaking the process, should not be undergoing school wide testing at the time of the assessment, and site visits are to be scheduled on normal school days when students are present.  Please include the following information in one page or less:

1. Name/Address/Telephone/Email for Principal and Superintendent
2. Description of School (including vision/mission statement, number of students, grade levels, location: urban, suburban, rural, etc.)
3. Statement of Need or Reason for Undertaking the Assessment
4. Commitment to submit a minimum of three best practices employed at the school
5. Preferred date to conduct assessment site visit (two consecutive days, possible three depending on school size), along with two alternate dates.
6. Your understanding of the cost for an assessment as it pertains to your school's student population based on the rate schedule.

The Letter of Intent may be emailed as an attachment to info@blueribbonschools.com, faxed to 803-532-2164, or mailed to:

Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, Inc.
136 Lakeside Road
Chapin, South Carolina 29036

QUESTIONS? 

Call Bart Teal at 803-345-5415 or 803-422-0402, or write to bart@blueribbonschools.com.

The Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School Award is a recognition program for schools of excellence and is not designed as a typical application process. Schools are identified and selected for this award based on achievement of excellent performance in all nine major categories of the Blueprint for Excellence assessment. Schools achieving excellence in less than nine categories could be eligible for the “Points of Light” Award or recognition as an Aspiring School. Schools will be notified of their status soon after completion of the assessment process and honored in an awards ceremony at the annual Blue Ribbon Schools Blueprint for Excellence Conference in December. These awards are given at the sole discretion of the BRSE.
 
 An assessment does not imply or guarantee award eligibility. In fact, a school often implements improvement strategies to move from Aspiring School, to Points of Light School, and then to Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School.