Eureka Middle School has earned its first National Blue Ribbon School award for exemplary work in closing the achievement gap among student groups.

Just hours after Eureka Middle School Principal Trevor Utter learned of the win, plans were underway for a celebration.

“It’s very exciting,” Utter said.

He and middle-school math teacher Shelley Shay will travel to Washington, D.C., to accept the award in November.

The state nominated the school for the award in February. To be nominated, the middle school had to be in the top 15 percent of all Montana schools demonstrating progress in closing the achievement gap in reading and math.

Additionally, each student group testing in the two subjects for the 2012-13 school year was in the top 40 percent of all schools in the state. Student groups include low-income students, students with disabilities and ethnic groups.

The school also met state accreditation for two consecutive years.

After being nominated the school had to submit an extensive application that took days to complete and input from staff, according to Utter.

“We had to describe the tactics of our school that make a Blue Ribbon school — the design of how we operate on a daily basis, our assessment tools, the teaching strategies that our teachers use,” he said. “It literally took days and days of writing to explain what we do and why we are good at it.”

Utter gave one example of how students made significant academic progress after coming to the middle school.

“The group that came in, in 2014, in fourth grade — 61 percent were proficient or advanced in math. When that same group left in eighth grade, 82 percent were proficient or advanced,” Utter said. “We went from 61 percent of what the state would say ‘that’s where we want them’ to 82 percent of them. That’s a huge increase.”

Utter attributed the school’s success not to any singular academic program, but a staff philosophy of caring and concern for every student.

“We don’t have any lessons or programs that are any different from any other school,” Utter said. “The success is because of the relationships kids have with the adults in our school. When a kid walks in the school our teachers greet students with, ‘How is your day? What can we do?’”

There is an expectation among staff members on how students will be treated and that’s a personal guarantee, he said.

“I think when you give them that they want to work for you and perform for you,” Utter said. “We can’t buy a new program that’s going to fix math. Math is math. Yes, some programs are better then others, but it ultimately goes back to the teacher, and our teachers are amazing.”

This type of school culture and academic achievement has taken years to build.

Shay and fifth-grade teacher Carrie Holder echoed the principal’s excitement when the middle school was named a National Blue Ribbon School.

“We love our kids, so we’re so excited to see their success,” Holder said. “We really care for our students in and out of school. I really attribute it to everybody in our town — our staff, our community, our kids. I think everyone is partnering together.”

Holder said the school also sets high expectations in academics and behavior with staff meeting weekly to discuss how individual students are doing.

Shay added, “We’re a real goal-setting school and we’re proactive in communicating both with our students and our parents. The kids are so excited. It’s just the icing on the cake for all the hard work.”

Nationally, 285 public schools and 50 private schools received the coveted awards in one of two categories: Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools or Exemplary High Performing Schools.

Hellgate Elementary Intermediate in Missoula and Margaret Leary Elementary School in Butte were the other Montana schools to earn Blue Ribbon awards.

Since 2010, 15 Montana schools have been named Blue Ribbon Schools.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.