Powells Lane Elementary School in Westbury has been selected as a 2000-2001 Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, the Washington, D.C.-based agency announced last week.

By winning the prestigious Blue Ribbon award, the school has again brought much pride to Westbury. It is only one of 264 schools nationally recognized, and the only school on Long Island chosen in this year's program.

"After the rigorous and lengthy selection process, your reward is well-deserved," noted J. Stephen O'Brien, Ed. D., a U.S. Education Department official, in a letter informing the school of their award.

The Blue Ribbon honor follows Powells Lane School's selection as a School of Excellence by the New York State Education Department, in January. The school has been noted for its nurturing staff members and programs that promote the best in its students, who come from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Upon hearing of the school's selection for the Blue Ribbon award last week, Principal John Olgilvie expressed much pride in the school's staff, students and the greater Westbury community. "We're extremely gratified. We feel that each day, we come to do our very best for the children of Powell's Lane," he said. "We're just gratified to have received this kind of recognition, and we're very proud to be a school here in Westbury. And we're very proud of the Westbury community. We're grateful to a community that's always supported us."

He added, "We have a wonderful staff here, wonderful children, and we're very grateful that the State of New York Education Department has chosen us as a School of Excellence, and the U.S. Department of Education has chosen us as a Blue Ribbon School."

Olgilvie also described Powells Lane School's Blue Ribbon award as a victory for the entire Westbury School District.