Horry County Schools’ Midland Elementary School is one of five South Carolina public schools to be named a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education. The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement.

The U.S. Department of Education says that schools chosen as National Blue Ribbon recipients are models of excellence that other schools can emulate. The National Blue Ribbon program was modified in 2001 to be consistent with the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.  The USDE determines how many nominees each state can submit. The federal agency allows South Carolina to nominate five schools, and those nominees must meet one of two criteria: 

• Schools that have at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds and that show dramatic improvement in test scores to high levels in English Language Arts and mathematics.
• Schools, regardless of their demographics, that achieve in the top 10 percent of schools in the state.

Midland Elementary School was in the top 10 percent – with at least 40 percent disadvantaged students – and also had dramatic improvement.  The school is located in a rural Horry County community, serving a diverse student population of 524 in kindergarten through fifth grade.  Midland has 61.8 percent of its students eligible for the free or reduced price school lunch program.

Using the South Carolina Curriculum Standards and the pacing guides developed by Horry County schools, Midland consistently strives for excellence for all students.  Professional development provides faculty and staff with extensive training in literacy, Reading Recovery, workstations, Everyday Math, Imagine Phonics and Brain Compatible Learning.  Using assessment data to identify student needs, the school has formed a Student Study Team to develop intervention strategies.  Tutorial programs designed to help individual students are available before, during and after school, taught by trained personnel.  An active PTO and volunteer program effectively contributes to the school’s success.

All five nominated South Carolina schools not only met the basic criteria, but also scored higher against those criteria than other South Carolina schools.  All nominees had to have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under NCLB for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years, and also had to make AYP for the 2008-09 school year to be eligible for recognition.