The U.S. Department of Education has designated Alleghany County's Elementary School as one of its 2007 No Child Left Behind National Blue Ribbon Schools. Sharon was one of seven Virginia public elementary schools and three private schools that were recognized in a statement released in October by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.

Only about 300 schools receive Blue Ribbon Awards each year, according to the U.S. Department of Education web site. That represents about 0.5% of all schools across the nation.

All seven Alleghany County schools have met Virginia standards for full accreditation for the past four years. The school division and all of the schools have met all requirements for "adequate yearly progress" under the federal government's "No Child Left Behind" law in each of the past two years. Alleghany was one of only 18 Virginia school division out of 132 in which schools and the division met all of the AYP requirements in 2007.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program was established in 1982 to spotlight the country's most successful schools. The program, which allows both elementary and secondary schools to be recognized in the same year, was renamed and modified last year to emphasize the goals of NCLB.

Source: Virginian Review - Tuesday, October 2, 2007