Ridgeview Elementary Principal Steven Abrahamson leads the school with an enrollment of 330 K-5 students and an average class size of 21 children. Ridgeview has a large number of gifted and talented students. Staff have received training in differentiated instruction to challenge gifted students. Ridgeview also serves students struggling to perform at grade-level through a building-wide Area Learning Center program during much of the year. Classes meet twice a week and are taught by Ridgeview teachers in a small group setting that gives many students the additional support and help they need.
“It is important to model the expectation I have of others," Abrahamson said. "Hard work, initiative and a desire for excellence are what make Ridgeview a very special place. To be our best, we must make certain we remain healthy -- physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and put our own families first, in order to be most effective at school.”
Ridgeview also is home to a district Special K program. Students from across the district also are enrolled in a Communication and Interaction Program (CIP), which provides support to students diagnosed on the autism spectrum
Ridgeview's dedicated and motivated staff work hard to make the best learning environment possible for its students. The staff strive to educate all learners to reach their fullest potential, become lifelong learners and responsible citizens following the schools’ stated mission: “to create a learning environment that helps learners to: recognize the value of individual differences, display ethical behavior, achieve success in their work, and identify their role(s) in a continually changing world, with a development of a nurturing partnership between staff and family that enhances our caring school community.”
In addition to Ridgeview Elementary School, four other elementary schools have been endorsed as 2005-06 Minnesota School of Excellence Award: O. H. Anderson Elementary School, Mahtomedi ISD #832; Clearview Elementary School, St. Cloud ISD #742; Greenway Elementary Schools, Greenway ISD #316; and Red Pine Elementary School, Rosemount/Apple Valley/Eagan ISD #196.
"The total commitment to excellence demonstrated by these award-winning schools is the very center of quality education in this state," Storti said. Emphasizing the educational needs of young children, Storti notes both the important foundation provided by Minnesota’s elementary schools and the essential role principals play as instructional leaders in assuring that the foundation is a solid one.
The Minnesota School of Excellence program was established in 1986. The program offers a powerful comprehensive school improvement process that results in student learning growth. The program combines the findings of current research on effective schooling with the practical on-site experience of working principals and education staff. This school improvement process is recognized by the Minnesota Department of Education; it involves a systematic program of self-study, development school improvement plan, and implementation of the plan based on demonstrated results. It validates elementary and middle school communities dedicated to continual growth who successfully complete a two-part school improvement process recognized by the Minnesota Department of Education: a self-study, followed by an application with improvement plans to address demonstrated results identified in the self-study. Since the program’s inception in 1986, 112 schools have earned this honor. |
