Eight Maryland schools, including six public and two parochial, were awarded the National Blue Ribbon School status yesterday by the U.S. Department of Education.
The distinction is given to schools that have made significant improvement in closing the gap between minority and white achievement or schools whose students have a high level of achievement. Since 1982, 165 public and private schools in Maryland have received the national designation.
The eight most recent winners include two Catholic schools, two public high schools, two public middle and two public elementary schools.
Students at Western High School, a Baltimore school and the nation's oldest public girls school, were told over the intercom system about noon yesterday that their school had received the award. The school serves a large population of poor students but has a 100 percent acceptance rate to four-year colleges. "I feel very honored and happy for the students and staff here. It validates the hard work we have done," said Eleanor Matthews, the principal.
Southern High School in Anne Arundel County, which has made significant progress in enrolling students in Advanced Placement classes in the past several years and has significantly improved its scores on the Maryland High School Assessments, was also chosen. Southern High is in Harwood.
Seventh District Elementary School in Baltimore County, Hammond Middle School in Howard County, Highland Elementary in Montgomery County and Stephen Decatur Middle School in Worcester County also were selected.
The two Catholic schools to receive the distinction were St. John Regional School in Frederick and Resurrection-St. Paul School in Ellicott City. Over the years, 11 other schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore have been selected.
