SPRINGFIELD – The School Committee formally congratulated the Frank H Freedman School for its move from Level 2 Accountability Status to Level 1.

That was not the only good news shared at the meeting on Jan. 5 as Superintendent Daniel Warwick also revealed the White Street School has been nominated for the Title 1 Blue Ribbon School Award.

In an email to White Street School Principal Kristen Hughes, Warwick noted, “The Blue Ribbon Schools program, which has been in existence since 1982, recognizes schools whose students achieve at very high levels ort schools that make significant progress in closing the achievement gap.”

Warwick told the School Committee that White Street School is the “highest performing high poverty school in the Commonwealth.”

The superintendent said the school qualifies as being considered an “Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing School.” The principal and her staff now must determine if they are interested applying for this federal recognition program.

Warwick described a letter from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) concerning the Brightwood Elementary School as “very positive.”  The letter, dated Jan. 5, will create the next step in renovating the school. The city has proposed adding a pre-K program at Brightwood and now the city and the MSBA must agree on the projected enrollment figures for such a program at the school.

The city is proposing a pre-K program at the school to serve about 396 students. The cost of determining the capacity would be rolled into the preliminary design program.