Tyler Paper- Thursday was a day of celebration for St. Gregory Cathedral School, a three-time National Blue Ribbon Award recipient from the U.S. Department of Education.
The school received its third Exemplary Blue Ribbon School Award Thursday.
The festivities included a mass of thanksgiving, blessing of the new flagpole, the Blue Ribbon Award ceremony and the hoisting of the blue ribbon flag, a special flag that only Blue Ribbon schools can fly.
Students, parents, faculty, staff, clergy and civic leaders gathered in Carney Gymnasium for the ceremony.
Principal Kathy Shieldes Harry received the award during a Blue Ribbon ceremony in Washington, D.C., last week and Thursday presented it to representatives of each class at the school, faculty and staff during a Tyler ceremony.
Of approximately 130,000 public and private schools in the United States, just 340 schools were recognized this year as Blue Ribbon Award winners and only a handful including St. Gregory received the award for the third time, Ms. Harry said.
Studies show, she said, that property values increase as much as 10 percent in a city or community or neighborhood where there is a Blue Ribbon school.
“This award is really a team effort,” Ms. Harry said.
To put it in perspective, said Dr. Jim Klassen, superintendent of the Diocese of Tyler, last year Texas did not have one private Blue Ribbon School; this year there are only three — and one of those is St. Gregory.
He spoke about how special the award is. For the last 30 years the government has decided to honor extraordinary schools and it is very competitive, he said.
“Over the years they have tried to make it harder and harder to repeat,” Klassen said. “They wanted to spread the award out so they kept making rules like you can’t reapply for a certain number of years and if you have won it before, you go into a different group. To get this award three times means that you have proven to be constantly and continually an extraordinary school.”
No one at St. Gregory strives to receive the award; they’re more focused on taking care of children, Klassen said.
“They are people who do extraordinary things because it’s right and it’s what they must do because they love these children,” he added.
Mayor Martin Heines said the award is the result of commitment of the Catholic Church, the principal and staff “to touch the lives of so many wonderful children on an annual basis.”
He told St. Gregory staff, “Your city is very proud of what you do every day when you wake up and serve these children.”
Heines proclaimed Nov. 20 at St. Gregory Cathedral School Day in the city of Tyler.
The proclamation, which stated St. Gregory has provided an exemplary education to children in Tyler since 1946, pointed out that “only 5.6 percent” of the public and private schools in the U.S. received the award and less than 1 percent have received three Blue Ribbon awards.
State Rep. Matt Schaefer told students, “Adults are doing what God asked them to do and they are training you up in the way you should go and you have the privilege of attending a very special school. You go to a great school because you have men and women who are teaching you and training you and they are following God’s commands and doing what honors Him.”
Schaefer added, “We are blessed to have (St. Gregory) in our community and very, very proud of what this school has accomplished.”
A letter from U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, which was read aloud, congratulated the school and stated that it took hard work, dedication and determination to receive such a prestigious distinction.
St. Gregory Cathedral School has long traditions of excellence in education and commitment to education with its Christian learning environment, it is a consistent beacon of wisdom in East Texas, Gohmert’s letter stated.
To be named a Blue Ribbon School once is noteworthy; to be named a Blue Ribbon school on three separate occasions is a distinction only 1 percent of schools in the nation share, Gohmert wrote.
“It truly shows what a special institution St. Gregory Cathedral School is,” he said.
A letter from U.S. Senator Ted Cruz read, “I applaud St. Gregory’s faculty, administration, students and parents for your pursuit of excellence in education. It is a stellar achievement for St. Gregory to receive this prestigious recognition three times in the past 15 years.”
The school received a certificate of recognition from Gov. Rick Perry.
State Sen. Kevin Eltife said, “This school has done so much for the Catholic community. Today we are so proud of the Catholic community. I’m so proud to be Catholic; I’m so proud of our bishop, our schools, our students.”
On behalf of Schaefer and himself, Eltife presented a Texas flag flown over the state capitol.
Rev. Joseph E. Strickland, bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, reflected on what a blue ribbon signifies.
“A blue ribbon signifies that this is the very best. This is the top, the highest,” Strickland said. “It’s a blue ribbon school that we are celebrating … it truly is a blue ribbon top shelf community that we celebrate.”
