78% of private schools honored with 2024 National Blue Ribbon Award have Catholic affiliation
Caroline MolloyA remarkable 78% of the 40 private schools that received the 2024 National Blue Ribbon School award from the U.S. Department of Education have a Catholic affiliation, including five schools from the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
The National Blue Ribbon program, established in 1982, recognizes schools for exceptional academic performance or efforts in closing achievement gaps, according to a report from the Catholic Review.
Of the 356 total recipients of the National Blue Ribbon School award nationwide, only 40 nonpublic schools achieved this honor. Thirty-one of these schools have a Catholic affiliation.
Five of these nonpublic schools were Catholic schools from the Archdiocese of Baltimore; four were from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis; three from the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston; and two were from the Archdiocese of Chicago. The full list featuring the nonpublic schools with Catholic affiliation can be found here.
The Catholic Review reported that the five schools from the Archdiocese of Baltimore—St. John the Evangelist School in Severna Park, Immaculate Conception School in Towson, Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Ellicott City, St. Joseph School in Cockeysville, and St. Mary’s Elementary School in Annapolis—were awarded the ribbon in the Exemplary High Performing category.
