Two Collier schools receive the National Blue Ribbon recognition

Sea Gate Elementary School and Lorenzo Walker Technical High School received 2018 National Blue Ribbon Schools awards, putting their overall academic performance ahead of hundreds of other schools.

Only 349 schools received the honor nationwide and only 12 schools were awarded in the state of Florida.

The U.S. Secretary of Education chimed in to offer her best wishes..

“Congratulations on your students’ accomplishments and for your extraordinary commitment to meeting their unique needs,” she said in a video announcement.

Students like Leonardo Gutierrez say the recognition in their school is well-deserved.

“The mindset is what can I do to grow more and what can I do to become greater than what I was yesterday.”

If you walk the hallways of Sea Gate Elementary and Lorenzo Walker Technical High School, you’ll see fairly quickly that winning is their way of life.

“This is the second time Sea Gate has been a Blue Ribbon School,” said Sea Gate Principal Bev Budzynski. “2008 they were Blue Ribbon winners and now again in 2018 ten years later.”

And parents are thrilled their kids are going to high-achieving schools.

Principals Budzynski and Rexford say no two days are ever the same, but it’s the staff and curriculum that make the schools stand out.

“It is easy to keep students engaged when you have relevant real-world curriculum and students are able to have that hands on approach for learning,” Principal Rexford said.

As they add another national accolade to their growing list of achievements, both schools want to make sure each child makes gains.

“We want to make sure that no matter where a child comes in educationally we take them as far as they can go,” Budzynski said.

Secretary DeVos has asked that a representative from each school fly out to Washington D.C. in November to celebrate their accomplishments.