Six Georgia public schools were named 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools last week. Blue Ribbon is a national recognition from the U.S. Department of Education (US ED). The recognition is based on a school's overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. The Georgia schools named 2019 recipients of the honor are: 

  • Sope Creek Elementary School, Cobb County Schools
  • Tritt Elementary School, Cobb County Schools
  • Daves Creek Elementary School, Forsyth County Schools
  • Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, Marietta City Schools
  • Pierce County High School, Pierce County Schools
  • CT Walker Traditional Elementary School, Richmond County Schools

“I offer my heartfelt congratulations to these six excellent public schools on this national recognition,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said, “and my gratitude to each educator within them who has worked hard to open up opportunities and create an environment where every student can learn.”

The coveted National Blue Ribbon Schools award affirms the hard work of educators, families, and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content.

Now in its 37th year, the National Blue Ribbon Schools program has bestowed recognition on more than 9,000 schools. On November 14-15, Secretary Betsy DeVos and US ED will celebrate with 312 public and 50 non-public school honorees at an awards ceremony in Washington D.C.

US ED recognizes schools in two performance categories: 

  • Exemplary High Performing Schools are among their state’s highest-performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
  • Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are among their state’s highest-performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.

Four Georgia private schools also received the National Blue Ribbon recognition: Hancock Day School in Savannah, Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Atlanta, Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School in Atlanta, and Queen of Angels Catholic School in Roswell. The selection process for private schools differs from the process for public schools.

Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year. US ED invites National Blue Ribbon School nominations from the top education official in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education. Private schools are nominated by the Council for American Private Education (CAPE).​

GPB Education extends a big congratulations to all the Georgia 2019 National Blue Ribbon School recipients.