National Blue Ribbon Schools

National Blue Ribbon Award and Process

Since 1982, the National Blue Ribbon Award is the highest award bestowed to schools by the United States Department of Education. Recognition such as this can bring welcomed and deserved attention to schools and go a long way to enhance marketing efforts.

As stated on the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) website, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. The National Blue Ribbon School award affirms the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging content. National Blue Ribbon Schools are honored each fall at a recognition ceremony in Washington, DC. The applications from the award-winning schools are posted on the US Department of Education website.

The deadline for private schools to indicate your intent to apply for the U.S. Department of Education's 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is Friday, October 27, 2023.

Private School Criteria

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes private schools that meet the Exemplary High Performing Schools criteria, which is defined as:

• Exemplary High Performing Schools:  Schools that are ranked among the state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments in both reading (English language arts) and mathematics or that score at the highest performance level on tests referenced by national norms in at least the most recent year tested.

Private School Applications and Nominations Requirements

CAPE nominates private schools. The private schools must indicate they want to apply and then submit applications by the deadlines indicated on CAPE’S Blue Ribbon Schools web page. CAPE reviews the applications and may nominate up to 50 private schools, including parochial and independent schools, each year. Current application requirements are available on CAPE's Blue Ribbon Schools web page.

National Blue Ribbon Schools 2023

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has honored and recognized great American public and private elementary, middle, and high schools since 1982. Every year, Catholic elementary and secondary schools are among the hundreds of public and private schools identified by the U.S. Department of Education as National Blue Ribbon Schools. Forty private schools are among the awardees this year and 36 of those were Catholic schools. Each state's commissioner of education nominates public schools for the award and the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) nominates the private schools. Representatives from each school are invited to an awards ceremony in November in Washington, D.C. This award is a great tribute to the dedication of faculties who clearly value academic excellence, as well as to the commitment of students who strive to succeed to the best of their ability. Each of these schools exemplifies the best of Catholic education, and all of us at NCEA are extremely proud of the efforts of these school communities that led to this tremendous accomplishment.

NCEA congratulates the following schools in 2023:

District of Columbia

Our Lady of Victory School
4755 Whitehaven Parkway NW
Washington, DC 20007-1558
Archdiocese of Washington

Florida

Queen of Peace Catholic Academy
10900 SW 24th Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32607-1207
Diocese of Saint Augustine

Georgia

Blessed Trinity Catholic High School
11320 Woodstock Road
Roswell, GA 30075-2548
Archdiocese of Atlanta

St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic School
2020 Kay Circle
Columbus, GA 31907-3229
Diocese of Savannah

St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School
7171 Glenridge Drive, NE
Atlanta, GA 30328-2630
Archdiocese of Atlanta

Illinois

Saint Francis High School
2130 W Roosevelt Road
Wheaton, IL 60187-6085
Diocese of Joliet

St. Isaac Jogues Elementary School
421 S Clay Street
Hinsdale, IL 60521-4087
Diocese of Joliet

Saint Joan of Arc School
4913 Columbia Avenue
Lisle, IL 60532-3503
Diocese of Joliet

School of Saints Faith, Hope and Charity
180 Ridge Avenue
Winnetka, IL 60093-3839
Archdiocese of Chicago

Indiana

Bishop Chatard High School
5885 Crittenden Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46220-2840
Archdiocese of Indianapolis

Saint Charles Catholic School
2224 East 3rd Street
Bloomington, IN 47401-5399
Archdiocese of Indianapolis

Saint John the Baptist Catholic School
725 Frame Road
Newburgh, IN 47630-1606
Diocese of Evansville

Kentucky

Saint Xavier High School
1609 Poplar Level Road
Louisville, KY 40217-1343
Archdiocese of Louisville

Villa Madonna Academy Elementary School
2500 Amsterdam Road
Villa Hills, KY 41017-3798
Diocese of Covington

Louisiana

Archbishop Hannan High School
71324 Highway 1077
Covington, LA 70433-0800
Archdiocese of New Orleans

Saint Joseph's Academy
3015 Broussard Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70808-1120
Diocese of Baton Rouge

Minnesota

Holy Family Catholic High School
8101 Kochia Lane
Victoria, MN 55386-8228
Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul

New York

Saint Stephen Of Hungary School
408 E 82nd Street
New York, NY 10028-5902
Archdiocese of New York

The Epiphany School
234 East 22nd Street
New York, NY 10010-5699
Archdiocese of New York

Transfiguration School
29 Mott Street
New York, NY 10013-9991
Archdiocese of New York

Ohio

Incarnate Word Academy
6620 Pearl Road
Parma Heights, OH 44130-3808
Diocese of Cleveland

Lakewood Catholic Academy
14808 Lake Avenue
Lakewood, OH 44107-1352
Diocese of Cleveland

Saint Bernadette Elementary School
2300 Clague Road
Westlake, OH 44145-4330
Diocese of Cleveland

Saint Margaret of York Elementary School
9495 Columbia Road
Loveland, OH 45140-1560
Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Saint Mary School
2845 Erie Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45208-2353
Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Saint Sebastian Parish School
500 Mull Avenue
Akron, OH 44320-1213
Diocese of Cleveland

Pennsylvania

Gwynedd-Mercy Academy Elementary
816 Norristown Road
Ambler, PA 19002-2103
Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Saint Mary Interparochial School
5th and Locust Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3726
Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Saint Philip Neri School
3015 Chestnut Street
Lafayette Hill, PA 19444-2048
Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Saints Philip and James School
721 E Lincoln Highway
Exton, PA 19341-2802
Archdiocese of Philadelphia

South Carolina

Christ Our King-Stella Maris School
1183 Russell Drive
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464-4057
Diocese of Charleston

Texas

Prince Of Peace Catholic School
5100 W Plano Parkway
Plano, TX 75093-5007
Diocese of Dallas

Saint Laurence Catholic School
2630 Austin Parkway
Sugar Land, TX 77479-1235
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

St. Theresa Catholic School
4311 Small Drive
Austin, TX 78731-3634
Diocese of Austin

Virginia

Charlottesville Catholic School
1205 Pen Park Road
Charlottesville, VA 22901-3111
Diocese of Richmond

Saint Gregory The Great Catholic School
5343 Virginia Beach Boulevard
Virginia Beach, VA 23462-1889
Diocese of Richmond