Doby’s Bridge Elementary in York County, SC, honored as Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School
Another Fort Mill school received a high honor, set up as an example for other schools to follow.
Doby’s Bridge Elementary School was named a 2023 Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School. The annual designation requires schools to excel in nine areas ranging from student focus and support to challenging curriculum, technology integration, community partnerships and school culture.
The Lighthouse School designation lasts five years and can be renewed. The comprehensive assessment of schools allows nonprofit Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence to share best practices with schools and educators on a local, regional and national level. The group founded in 2001 provides mentoring and networking for schools looking to improve.
Doby’s Bridge follows Fort Mill High School, which won the Lighthouse award in 2021. It was the first York, Lancaster or Chester county school to earn the designation.
A letter from nonprofit CEO Judith Warden Fields to Doby’s Bridge principal Amanda Kubbs called Doby’s a deserving school that diligently fulfills the many learning needs of all students.
“We will be able to share information from America’s best schools with other schools around the country,” Fields wrote. “It is our belief that there is always room for improvement in fulfilling the ever-changing needs of our children.”
Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence is separate from the National Blue Ribbon Schools program run through the U.S. Department of Education. That program has been around since 1982. It recognizes schools based on test score data, for their ability to excel or to close achievement gaps for students.
The tri-county area has numerous schools that won awards through that program. This year, Gold Hill Elementary School joined the list. Nation Ford High School won it in 2020, two years after Fort Mill High (also a 2004 winner) and York Preparatory Academy won. Rock Hill High School won in 1984.
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 8:40 AM.
