Liberty Middle receives National Blue Ribbon award
Liberty Middle School is one of five Alabama schools that received a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award for 2012.
The schools that earned the award were publicly announced Sept. 7. The Blue Ribbon award distinguishes public schools that achieve overall academic excellence or make significant progress toward improving student academic achievement levels.
“This is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the teachers, students, staff, administration, parents, and all stakeholders of Liberty,” Liberty Vice Principal Jamie Golliver said. “I am very privileged and extremely proud to be a part of Liberty Middle School and look forward to continued success and achievements in the future.”
The Alabama State Department nominated Liberty, and then the school had to complete an application in hopes of receiving the award. “It caused us to do a lot of reflection about the great things we are doing, Liberty Vice Principal Carmen Buchanan said. “However, we have not arrived. There is always room for growth and improvement. I am just so proud to be able to serve this school as an assistant principal in order to help promote growth.”
The Madison City school also earned the award in 2002.
Both Buchanan and Golliver are new to the role of vice principal, but they are not new to Liberty. Last year Buchanan was the school’s instructional coach and Golliver was a social science teacher.
Buchanan credits the dedication of the staff at Liberty to earning the award. “Teachers at Liberty conference one-on-one with students to set goals for achievement,” Buchanan said. “Our staff is one of the most friendly groups of people I know. They have a genuine desire to help students.”
Liberty Principal Nelson Brown is new to Liberty. For the last two years he was the principal at Columbia Elementary School.
He may be new to the school, but he is familiar with the perseverance of teachers in the school system. “Everyone works so hard,” Brown said. “It’s a great honor for Liberty to be recognized with such a prestigious award.”
This year U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan bestowed 269 schools with the Blue Ribbon award.
The other Alabama schools that received the award in 2012 are Forest Hills School in Florence City, Daphne High School in Baldwin County, Piedmont High School in Piedmont City, and Spencer Elementary School in Mobile County.
