West Lafayette Elementary's turn to tell its story as new Blue Ribbon School

A Q&A with Principal Sara Delaney on West Lafayette Elementary being among the nation’s Blue Ribbon Schools, laying a foundation for one of the top public school districts in Indiana

• This edition is sponsored by the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, presenting Art on the Wabash. The juried art fair will be 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, at Tapawingo Park in West Lafayette. Admission is free. For more, check out Art on the Wabash here.

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WEST LAFAYETTE ELEMENTARY’S TURN TO TELL ITS STORY AS BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL: A Q&A

Principal Sara Delaney said there were cryptic hints Monday morning that West Lafayette Elementary was about to be named among 356 Blue Ribbon schools.

The school had been invited to apply for the national honor by the U.S. Department of Education months ago, and Delaney said no one expected it to be sure thing.

“We were just getting these cryptic messages that said we might want to tune in at 1 p.m., just in case,” Delaney said. “All of our other administrators were out helping students at the time, so I sat in my office and cranked up the announcement to actually hear our name presented from Dr. (Miguel) Cardona. That was pretty exciting.”

West Lafayette Elementary Principal Sara Delaney. (Photo: Dave Bangert)

West Lafayette Elementary, a 702-student school on Cumberland Avenue, was among 16 schools in Indiana announced that by the U.S. Secretary of Education as Blue Ribbon Schools, based on being among the top performers on state and national assessments or that had made progress to close achievement gaps among different student groups.

This week, Delaney and West Lafayette Superintendent Shawn Greiner took time to talk about the award and what West Side did to tell the school’s story.

Question: Tell me, what was the reaction when you got this word?