All four Carmel Clay secondary schools and nine of the district’s 11 secondary schools have been named Four-Star Schools by the Indiana Department of Education.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Suellen Reed announced today that Carmel Clay’s 13 schools are among 179 Hoosier public schools that have been honored with 2007 Four Star School Awards. The award is the highest state distinction and is based on student achievement on ISTEP+ assessments and overall attendance rates during the 2007-2008 school year.

“We are pleased to recognize 179 Indiana schools for their exceptionally high performance,” Reed said.

Carmel High School as well as Carmel, Clay and Creekside middle schools were named Four-Star Schools. Elementary schools in the district that earned recognition are Cherry Tree, College Wood, Forest Dale, Mohawk Trails, Prairie Trace, Smoky Row, Towne Meadow, West Clay and Woodbrook.

“We are very proud of this recognition,” said Barbara Underwood, superintendent of the Carmel Clay Schools.

According to the Indiana Department of Education, a total of 1,819 Indiana public schools were eligible for the Four Star School Award. To earn the distinction, a school must be accredited by the Indiana State Board of Education, meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as defined by The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and perform in the top 25 percent of all the schools in the state in each of the following four areas: student attendance rates, mathematics proficiency scores, English/language arts proficiency scores and the percent of students passing both English/language arts and mathematics. The annual award is non-monetary. Schools earning this honor receive an award certificate

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Contact: Dr. Barbara Underwood, superintendent, Carmel Clay Schools

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 317 844-9961, Extension 1047