Local Elementary School Named National Blue Ribbon School

The U.S. Department of Education has named its 2022 Blue Ribbon Schools, with one school in Lafayette receiving its top honors for exemplary growth.

Myrtle Place Elementary is one of seven Louisiana schools recognized as a Blue Ribbon School, according to a press release from the Louisiana Department of Education.

Myrtle Place was the top school in the state for year-to-year improvement in LEAP in 2022, helping lead the Lafayette Parish School System to be one of the Top Districts for One-Year Growth in LEAP.

LPSS Superintendent Irma Trosclair said she was not surprised that the school was honored.

"When they were nominated, I absolutely knew they were very deserving," Trosclair said. "The school has a great leader, and a staff that works very hard."

According to Trosclair, the entire school stepped up during the pandemic.

"In the last couple of years, not only were the teachers teaching, Madame [Catherine Bricelj] herself was teaching classes," Trosclair explained. "I've never gone there when that leader isn't out helping her staff."

"National Blue Ribbon Schools serve as models of effective school practices for state and district educators and other schools throughout the nation," the Louisiana Department of Education explained in its press release. "A National Blue Ribbon School flag gracing a school’s entryway or on a flagpole is a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning."

"I just want to sincerely congratulate them," Trosclair said. "It's an example of what's possible in this district."