St. Thomas Aquinas Parish is excited to announce that the U.S. Department of Education today recognized St Thomas Aquinas school as an Exemplary High Performing National Blue Ribbon School for 2019. St. Thomas Aquinas is one of only 362 schools in the entire US and 12 schools in the state of Indiana receiving this honor.
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 8,800 schools. In November, the Secretary and the Department of Education will celebrate with all honorees at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.
All schools are honored in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:
- 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 subgroups and all students over the past five years.
Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year. The Department 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).
Congratulations, St. Thomas Aquinas #saintthomasindy
