PRINCETON:St. Paul’s School celebrates Blue Ribbon award

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
   The applause rose outside St. Paul’s School Wednesday morning as children and adults clapped when they saw a blue flag go up the flag pole to mark a high honor the co-ed Catholic school has received.
   St. Paul’s was recognized this year by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon school, the highest honor any public or private school can receive from the federal government.
   Only 269 schools in the country received the award, and only 50 of those were private schools, said school Principal Ryan Killeen in remarks during a celebratory service in the adjacent St. Paul Church.
   He joined parents students and staff and clergy at the morning service, though not technically considered a mass.
   ”So today as a community, we join together and we say a word of congratulations, we say a word of well done and we say a word of encouragement at this great honor that this school has received because it asks its students to do something great,” said Bishop David M. O’Connell of the Diocese of Trenton.
   The Rev. Joseph Rosie, pastor of St. Paul’s, called the blue ribbon award “a great and wonderful accomplishment” that carried national recognition. “We want to share that good news about Catholic education, about our school and our commitment to education,” he said.
   St. Paul’s is the only school in Princeton and only one in Mercer County to be honored this year, Mr. Killeen said. He said there is a wide range of criteria the government uses; one of which is to require schools to be in the top 10 in standardized test scores for five straight years.
   The k-8 school, home to around 350 pupils, draws children from the region. Founded in 1880, it was the first Catholic school in Princeton.
   ”It’s tremendous,” said Derek Miller, the father of a third-grader, who called the Blue Ribbon award “a long-time coming.”
   John Wandishin, chairman of the school’s board, called the recognition “a great honor” that serves as a “vote of confidence” for what is going on at St. Paul’s. Yet he was quick to add the school is not just about education but about preparing people for life.
   ”Here at St. Paul’s, we are first and foremost a community of faith,” Mr. Killeen said.