National Blue Ribbon Schools Program

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, the Department honors high-performing schools and schools that are making great strides in closing any achievement gaps between students.

The U.S. Department of Education is responsible for administering the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, which is supported through ongoing collaboration with the National Association of Elementary School Principals, Association for Middle Level Education, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Since the program's founding in 1982, the award has been presented to more than 9,000 schools.^[1]

National Blue Ribbon Schools represent the full diversity of American schools: public schools including Title I schools, charter schools, magnet schools, and non-public schools including parochial and independent schools. The schools are urban, suburban, and rural, large and small, traditional and innovative, and serve students of every social, economic, and ethnic background.^{[citation needed]}