The U.S. Department of Education names two local schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools. Administrators from Immaculate Conception Elementary School in Fort Smith and Central Park Elementary in Bentonville picked up their awards at a private ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
The Blue Ribbon School award honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels, “Exemplary High Performing,” or where significant improvements are being made in students’ levels of achievement, “Exemplary Improving.”
The Department of Education honored 286 schools out of the country with this award in 2013.
Schools named Blue Ribbons Schools must first be nominated from a top education official in the state with no more than 420 nominations. The Secretary of Education invites nominated schools to submit an application for review.
Sine 1982, nearly 7,500 schools have received this prestigious award. The National Blue Ribbon School award is considered the highest honor an American school can achieve.
