Before a gymnasium full of cheering students, teachers, staff and district administrators, Putegnat Elementary Principal Aidee Vasquez acknowledged her school’s latest accomplishment Tuesday morning, the Distinguished Performance Award given by the Texas Education Agency.
Putegnat was one of only two schools in Texas to receive the award — the other was in Rio Grade City — which recognizes attainment of rigorous goals in the state accountability system that show how students are closing learning gaps in reading and math.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Association, or ESEA, designated Putegnat for the award at its national conference in February in New Orleans. Putegnat had to meet these eligibility standards:
>> Be a Title I, Part A school having a high percentage of poor children and using schoolwide and targeted assistance programs;
>> Receive an “A” rating in the state’s school accountability system;
>> Meet reading and math academic achievement targets on all evaluated groups in reading and math, and
>> Receive distinction designations for reading, math and closing the gaps.
“What we’ve always known about Putegnat has been recognized once again, that we are a distinguished school amongst very few. You can now call yourselves a Blue Ribbon, Distinguished Honor Roll campus,” Vasquez told her students.
“And I know, I am sure we will be receiving a lot more of these awards and recognitions because I see all the hard work, the effort in the classrooms from the students, the teachers, the administration, the support staff, everyone. I just can’t wait to get another award. Right boys and girls? You deserve it,” she said.
“I’m excited, very, very proud to be your principal. We all love you very much, all our students. I’m just very. very excited for all of you.”
In a video prepared to explain the award, Vasquez was asked, “How do you maintain a positive school culture among students and teachers?”
“We do a lot of extrinsic motivation. We have our Panther Power Hour for our students who do well in their exams or just are doing well with attendance or honor roll or just are progressing, she said. “We reward students. It doesn’t mean that you just have to meet standards. When we see progress, we reward that also.”
Vasquez said as a school, Putegnat also ”celebrates teachers as much as we can with celebratory luncheons, little rewards … but we want to reward our teachers because they do so much for our students.”
Putegnat also won the National Blue Ribbon School Award in 2019, the highest award given by the U.S. Department of Education. That same year, it was one of 18 BISD schools named to the Educational Results Partnership Honor Roll as part of a national effort to recognize higher performing schools and districts.
