T.S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School is a nationally recognized blue beacon of academic excellence beaming from Southwest Louisiana.

For a third time, the school has received the National Blue Ribbon Award — the school was awarded in 2012 and 2018. On Thursday, October 10, T.S. Cooley celebrated their achievement with a presentation in the cafeteria complete with songs, dancing and motivational chants.

For 40 years, the United States Department of Education has honored high-achieving schools each year through the National Blue Ribbon Schools program. Schools are determined based on student performance data – assessment results, student subgroup performance, graduation rates.

Over 9000 schools have been recognized throughout the decades; T.S. Cooley is one of less than one hundred that has been recognized three times. Schools are eligible every five years. This year, T.S. Cooley is one of seven schools in Louisiana (the only in SWLA) and 316 schools in the country that was named a 2024 National Blue Ribbon School.

Principal Emily Alcock said during the presentation that the award is a reflection of the students.

“What that means is when I look around this cafeteria, I see a lot of kids here that take advantage of all the things that they have and reach their potential with all of the things that they learn here.”

T.S. Cooley is an “A” rated nationally certified magnet school that teaches about 300 “wavemakers” (students). The school offers a diverse curriculum, with students attending music, french and physical education classes every day, and art and library classes twice a week.

Teacher Kate Dronette noted that the National Blue Ribbon Awards are for “schools that go above and beyond in reaching their kids, finding a way to reach all of their kids in different ways,” and that she and her peers feel “amazing.”

“The school works really, really hard. We work as a team here. If you walk in T.S. Cooley, you’re going to feel something that’s very, very unique,” she said. “We just take it to the next level. We want to make sure we reach each and every student every single day, and we kind of do whatever it takes to get there.”

Alcock said during the presentation that the Blue Ribbon Schools program encourages excelling schools to share their best practices across their districts, states and country.

“We are recognized to inspire, motivate other schools to strive for success and foster a culture of continuous improvement.”

CPSB Superintendent Jason VanMetre told the students directly that their award is well earned, and they deserved to feel proud.

“It means that you believe in yourself and you work hard. And your teachers work hard. And your principal and assistant principal and everybody that works here works hard so that every single day, we produce the best.

After the presentation, the students finished celebrating on the playground with extra recess time and Blue Bell Ice Cream.