View an online video clip of the ceremony!

Congratulations Dirksen students, parents, and staff!

Dirksen Primary School has been nominated by the Illinois State Board of Education as one of sixteen schools in Illinois for the US Department of Education "Blue Ribbon Schools Award". This coveted national award honors schools that are either academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. "In keeping with the principles of the No Child Left Behind Act, the US Department of Education will reward schools based on student achievement results, not proces.. Schools chosen for the Blue Ribbon will be ones that are meeting our mission to ensure every child learns, and no child is left behind. Blue Ribbon recepients will be national models of exfellence that others can learn from," according to Rod Paige, US Secretary of Education.

Out of 4,212 public schools in Illinois Dirksen was nominated for student performance in reading and math over the past three years. With the nomination from the state board Dirksen is eligible to submit a final application for the national award. The US Secretary of Education will announce the national winners on September 8, 2003.