Fort Bragg school wins national recognition

Bowley Elementary is among 335 schools across the country to be honored as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2015 based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

Only three other North Carolina schools, including Rock Ridge Elementary School in Wilson, made the list. Bowley Elementary also was one of three Defense Department schools to win a Blue Ribbon, with the others being at military bases in Germany and South Korea.

To be invited to apply for the award, Bowley Elementary had to show improvement during that past five years in science, technology, engineering and math courses.

"The hard work that we put in was not geared towards winning something. It was geared towards working with these children," teacher Cindy Clark said.

One of the biggest challenges for the students is the amount of time they spend away from their parents because of military deployments.

"They have a lot of struggles because their parents have been on multiple deployments," Principal Diane Brown said. "We have to create a community environment for our students so that they know that they are cared for and loved. We have a strong PTA, we have a lot of parental participation and we have a strong military partner."

"I like how that Bowley has a great enthusiasm and a love for learning," said fifth-grader Angie Li, who said she wants to transform her love of math into a career as an architect.

"I like how the teachers educate us in a fun, environmental way," fifth-grader Jaden Bailey said. "When I graduate, I actually want to become a scientist so I can create inventions and help improve the world."