BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS PROGRAM
Schools Recognized
1982-1983 Through 2001-2002
For further information, contact:
Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs
400 Maryland Avenue SW, 5E205
Washington, DC 20202-3521
BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS PROGRAM
Purpose:
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program was established by the Secretary of Education in 1982 and developed into a national school improvement strategy with three purposes. First, it identified and recognized outstanding public and private schools across the nation. Second, the program made research-based effectiveness criteria available to all schools so they could assess themselves and plan improvements. Third, the program encouraged schools, both within and among themselves, to share information about best practices based on a common understanding of criteria related to educational success.
Blue Ribbon Schools were models of both excellence and equity. To be recognized, a school demonstrated a strong commitment to educational excellence for all students. The program welcomed applications from schools that had demonstrated sustained success in achieving these values, as well as schools that had overcome obstacles and could provide evidence of significant improvements.
Which Schools Were Nominated?
Public and private schools serving grades K-12 from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Department of Defense Dependents Schools, could be nominated. Elementary and secondary schools were eligible to participate in alternate years. During the last five years of the program, middle schools participated with secondary schools.
The minimum period of operation for public and private schools, including newly merged schools, was five years; that is, the school must have been in its sixth full year of operation when the application was submitted. Previously recognized schools were eligible to reapply after a five year waiting period.
How Were Schools Chosen?
Each state education agency administered its own program for selecting public schools to be nominated to the national level. Chief State School Officers made their nominations to the U.S. Department of Education. The Council for American Private Education nominated private schools, and officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of Defense Dependents Schools nominated their schools. Each of these nominating agencies had an assigned Blue Ribbon liaison who provided guidance to schools applying to the program.
The Department convened the National Review Panel to evaluate the nominations. The panel consisted of approximately 100 outstanding public and private school educators from the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels. Based on the quality of the application, the most promising schools were recommended for site visits. The purpose of a visit was to verify the accuracy of the information the school provided in its nomination form and to gather any additional information the panel requested. Experienced educators, including principals of previously recognized schools, visited and observed the schools for two days and submitted written site visit reports. The National Review Panel considered the reports in its final review of applicants and made recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Education, who then announced the names of the schools selected for recognition.
What Selection Criteria Were Used?
The National Review Panel considered the following general categories in analyzing the application of each school:
Student Focus and Support
School Organization and Culture
Challenging Standards and Curriculum
Active Teaching and Learning
Professional Community
Leadership and Educational Vitality
School, Family, and Community Partnerships
Indicators of Success
Each year, special emphases were designated. These represented areas where school performance needed to be greatly improved and where effective models were sought. Schools chose to seek honors in one special emphasis area in addition to comprehensive recognition.
Partnerships:
Partnerships with education associations contributed greatly to the high success of the Blue Ribbon Schools Program. The partners were the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the National Middle School Association.
TO SAVE SPACE, WE HAVE DELETED ALL STATES FROM THIS LIST EXCEPT LOUISIANA. If you would like to download the entire list for this time period, CLICK HERE.
LOUISIANAAlfred Bonnabel High School Metairie 86-87
Alice M. Harte Elementary School New Orleans 87-88
Archbishop Blenk High School Gretna 94-96
Archbishop Chapelle High School Metairie 86-87, 90-91, 94-96
Archbishop Rummel High School Metairie 88-89
Baton Rouge High School Baton Rouge 82-83
Benjamin Franklin Senior High School New Orleans 88-89
Bissonet Plaza Elementary School Metairie 85-86
Broadmoor Elementary School Lafayette 89-90
Broadmoor Middle Laboratory School Shreveport 86-87
Brother Martin High School New Orleans 86-87
C. E. Byrd High School Shreveport 94-96
Caddo Middle Magnet School Shreveport 84-85
Captain Shreve High School Shreveport 82-83
Cathedral-Carmel School Lafayette 00-01
Catholic High School Baton Rouge 88-89, 92-93, 97-98
Christ the King School Bossier City 93-94
Cope Middle School Bossier City 93-94
De La Salle High School New Orleans 94-96
Dwight D. Eisenhower School New Orleans 96-97
Edgar Martin Middle School Lafayette 86-87
Edna Karr Secondary School New Orleans 99-00
Edward Haynes School New Orleans 87-88
Episcopal High School Baton Rouge 86-87, 90-91
Episcopal School of Acadiana Cade 86-87
Gentilly Terrace Creative Arts Magnet School New Orleans 91-92
Grace King High School Metairie 82-83
Henry W. Allen Fundamental School New Orleans 96-97
Holy Rosary School Shreveport 98-99
Isidore Newman Lower School New Orleans 87-88
Isidore Newman School New Orleans 84-85
Jean Gordon Elementary School New Orleans 89-90
Jesuit High School-New Orleans New Orleans 86-87
Lafayette Elementary School Lafayette 83-84
Lakewood Junior High School Luling 82-83
Leesville High School Leesville 82-83
Little Oak Elementary School Slidell 89-90
Lockport Junior High School Lockport 84-85
Lusher Alternative Elementary School New Orleans 87-88
M.R. Weaver Elementary School Natchitoches 85-86
Mandeville Elementary School Mandeville 98-99
Mandeville Middle School Mandeville 89-90
Mandeville High School Mandeville 01-02
Marie B. Riviere Elementary School Metairie 87-88
McDonogh 35 Senior High School New Orleans 92-93
McKinley Middle Magnet School Baton Rouge 83-84
McMain Magnet Secondary School New Orleans 90-91
Metairie Park Country Day School Metairie 86-87
Mount Carmel Academy New Orleans 92-93, 97-98
New Iberia Senior High School New Iberia 88-89
Norbert Rillieux Elementary School Waggaman 85-86
Northeast Elementary School Pride 93-94
Our Lady of Divine Providence School Metairie 93-94
Our Lady of Fatima School Lafayette 85-86, 89-90
Our Lady of Prompt Succor Parish School Chalmette 96-97
Parkway High School Bossier City 84-85
Pontchartrain Elementary School Mandeville 00-01
Raceland Junior High School Raceland 82-83
Romeville Elementary School Convent 86-87
Ruston High School Ruston 83-84
Saint Joseph's Academy Baton Rouge 90-91, 94-96, 01-02
Saint Dominic School New Orleans 98-99
Saint Michael Catholic School Crowley 85-86
Saint Paul's Episcopal School New Orleans 96-97
Saint Rosalie School Harvey 91-92
St. Anthony of Padua School New Orleans 87-88
St. Benilde School Metairie 96-97
St. Bernard Elementary School Breaux Bridge 87-88
St. Christopher School Metairie 93-94
St. Edward the Confessor School Metairie 00-01
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini School New Orleans 93-94
St. Francis Xavier School Metairie 00-01
St. Leo the Great Elementary School New Orleans 89-90
St. Louis King of France School Metairie 00-01
St. Margaret Mary School Slidell 98-99
St. Martin's Episcopal School Metairie 85-86
St. Mary's Dominican High School New Orleans 88-89, 94-96
St. Rita School Harahan 98-99
St. Rosalie School Harvey 00-01
St. Scholastica Academy Covington 97-98
St. Thomas More Catholic High School Lafayette 86-87, 92-93, 97-98
Scott Middle School Scott 84-85
Shreve Island Elementary School Shreveport 96-97
South Highlands Academic and
Performing Arts Magnet School Shreveport 00-01
Trinity Episcopal School New Orleans 87-88
Upper Little Caillou School Chauvin 85-86
Ursuline Academy New Orleans 90-91, 98-99
Vermilion Catholic High School Abbeville 94-96
Walter L. Abney Elementary School Slidell 98-99
Warren Easton Fundamental
Senior High School New Orleans 94-96
Woodlake Elementary School Mandeville 93-94
Woodvale Elementary School Lafayette 87-88
Xavier University Preparatory School New Orleans 86-87, 90-91
Youree Drive Middle School Shreveport 83-84