National Blue Ribbon Schools Awards Ceremony

On Thursday, October 13, The Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark, will recognize in a special ceremony the two schools in the Archdiocese that the U.S. Department of Education has designated “National Blue Ribbon Schools” in 2016.

The ceremony, which will begin at 10 a.m. in the Archdiocesan Center at 171 Clifton Avenue, Newark, will honor Saint Cassian School, Upper Montclair, and the Academy of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Franklin Lakes. Representatives of the two schools will be joined by representatives of other Archdiocesan Blue Ribbon Schools and local dignitaries to celebrate this achievement.

Both schools have earned the distinction of being recognized as “Exemplary High Performing Schools. They join 328 schools nationally — 279 public and 50 non-public schools — to be awarded the Blue Ribbon designation in 2016.    

In receiving this honor, Saint Cassian School and the Academy of the Most Blessed Sacrament join 17 other schools in the Archdiocese that have been equally honored since 2011. To date, 27 percent of the Archdiocese’s Catholic elementary schools have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools.

Note to Editors:  Media is invited to cover this special event in the life of the Archdiocese of Newark.
 

About the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program

The United States Department of Education’s National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has honored and recognized great American public and private elementary, middle, and high schools since 1982. To date, only 8,500 schools nationally have received the honor.

Parochial and private schools are eligible to apply for Blue Ribbon recognition if they are exemplary high performing schools. “High performing” means that the achievement of the school’s students in the most recent year tested places the school in the top 15 percent in the nation in reading and mathematics as measured by a nationally normed test. For the elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Newark the nationally normed test used to measure student achievement is the TerraNova, 3rd Edition. The top 15 percent criterion must be met in both reading and math scores for the most recent year tested for all grades (Grades 3 and higher) in which the tests are administered in the school. Schools must have an enrollment of no less than 100 students and each class tested must have 10 or more students.

Private and parochial schools that meet the criteria for recognition apply through, and must be nominated by the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). The United States Department of Education invites CAPE to nominate up to 50 schools nationwide each year.

Public schools are nominated by their state’s Chief State School Officer and must rank among the top 15 schools in the state based on the most recently administered state assessment.

The application process entails the completion of an extensive application. The application includes demographic information and narrative descriptions of various elements of the school’s mission, curriculum, programs, leadership and community involvement.