RAPID CITY, SD (KELO) – Students show up to Pinedale Elementary School in Rapid City, Principal Chad Franke said.

“Ninety-eight of our students are in school 97% of the time,” Franke said.

This statistic, one of the data points that helped the school achieve the National Blue Ribbon Schools designation for 2021. Pinedale Elementary, O’Gorman High School, Arlington Elementary and Gettysburg Middle School all won the price.

The US Department of Education bases the award on a school’s overall academic performance or progress made in reducing achievement gaps among subgroups of students.

Pinedale won the award for his overall academic performance.

Franke said the student attendance rate reflects the seriousness with which parents, students and staff take their academics.

“We have a pretty good reputation,” Franke said. He described the school and staff with a “pedigree” in academics.

“Seventy percent of our staff have a master’s degree,” Franke said.

The emphasis on improving students’ academic skills, including in state standards, is accompanied by formal and informal cooperation between teachers, he said.

The school has given teachers more time this year to collaborate and plan. Teachers are also adept at collecting and analyzing data, Franke said.

All of this means staff can help students improve their learning and fill in gaps, he said.

A unique pedagogical approach may have worked years ago. “But not anymore,” Franke said.

“You have to meet (the students) where they are,” Franke said. This means that a teacher can use different methods and styles throughout their day to reach students.

The K-5 school has three sections each year with approximately 319 students.

School enrollment doesn’t change much throughout the year, Franke said, which is also positive for staff and students.