In today’s blog post, St. Cecelia School will explain what it means to be a Blue Ribbon School and why we are honored to be recognized as one.

What Is A Blue Ribbon School?

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a national program that has recognized academic excellence in both public and private schools since 1982. Each year, the Blue Ribbon School program selects a small number of schools from each state as Blue Ribbon institutions. In 2017, only 12 schools in all of Florida were awarded. Since 2010, just under 60 schools have earned a Blue Ribbon honor, and one of those schools is St. Cecelia School in 2010.

How Are Blue Ribbon Institutions Chosen?

The Blue Ribbon School program is almost exclusively based on academic excellence. However, there are some eligibility criteria as well. When it comes to performance criteria, the yearly awards are given to schools who meet one of two eligibility requirements. They can be an Exemplary High Performing School or an Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing School. For the former, that means that their school must be in the top 15 percent of all schools when it comes to select state assessments.

For the latter, the criteria is a bit more complicated. They must be a school that ranks in the top 15 percent of all schools when it comes to closing the gap between the performance of the school’s subgroup and the state’s all-students group over a five year period. There are several more in-depth criteria for Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools.

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Why Does This Matter?

If a school is recognized as a Blue Ribbon School, especially within the last decade, it likely means that they are exceeding the academic expectations of most schools in the state. In fact, according to many of the criteria, it means that they are outperforming over 75% of the schools in their respective state.

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Contact St. Cecelia For Admissions Questions

At St. Cecelia, we take our academic standards seriously, which is why we are one of the few schools to be recognized in Florida as a Blue Ribbon School since 2010. Just 1% of schools in Florida have been recognized as a Blue Ribbon institution since 2010, making St. Cecelia one of the top schools in the state. For more information on admissions, give us a call today at (727) 461-1200 or contact us online.