This year, two schools from the Tucson area were nominated for the National Blue Ribbon, a prestigious award given to schools from around the country. The schools were Senita Valley Elementary School and Sunrise Drive Elementary School, which I attended. I am very proud of my former elementary school winning such a distinguished award, so I decided to interview the Sunrise Drive principal, Andrea Davidson. Principal Davidson has been in the Catalina Foothills School District for 37 years and is delighted that the school has been chosen.
According to the U.S. Dept. of Education, the Blue Ribbon Award “recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall academic experience.” This basically means that the Blue Ribbon committee picks the top schools based on the students’ overall grades, test scores and other criteria each year. Then, there is a ceremony in Washington, D.C. for all schools that were picked. At the ceremony, the school receives a plaque and a flag. The NBR (not to be confused with NPR, National Public Radio), was first established in 1982 by the U.S. Department of Education.
Next, let me tell you about Sunrise Drive. Sunrise Drive Elementary was established in 1976, and has been open since then. The school offers Mandarin Chinese and Spanish language classes and has a gifted program taught by Dr. Mary Florek. The school teaches kindergarten–fifth grade and also has a multi-award-winning robotics program taught by Charlotte Ackerman. There is also a Special Needs program. With all of these elements, it’s no wonder Sunrise was nominated for the NBR.
Principal Davidson has been teaching for 37 years and is a lifelong Tucson resident. She is responsible for making sure that about 500 students have adequate lunches, teachers and extracurriculars. While juggling all of these responsibilities, Davidson managed to find a time for an interview.
Walking into the front office of my old school brought back a flood of memories. But as I walked down the unfamiliar hallway to the administrators’ offices, I felt kind of like a hardened criminal; treading the same path that so many troublemakers before me had. But when I opened the door to the principal’s office, my fears immediately subsided. Davidson was extremely welcoming and made me feel as if I was still a part of Sunrise.
I found out that Davidson is an extremely charitable person, and devotes a good portion of her free time to helping children. She is delighted that Sunrise was given such an honor, and is proud to have her school represented in Washington, D.C., at the awards ceremony. Davidson said, “Sunrise Drive has been an amazing school for a long time, but it’s the students at Sunrise Drive who work hard every day to be the best learners they can be."