A flag signifying exemplary teaching and learning will now proudly fly in front of seven North Texas schools.
Twenty-six Texas schools were awarded the prestigious Blue Ribbon Award by the U.S. Department of Education, and seven of them were in North Texas alone.
The Blue Ribbon program was founded in 1982 as a way to recognize schools where students perform at very high levels. It awards public and private schools of all ages up to high school.
Only 329 high-performing schools across the country in total were bestowed the admired award. The schools had to go through a rigorous application process through the U.S. Department of Education, and now they’ll now be nationally recognized at a conference in Washington D.C., according to a press release sent out by the Texas Department of Education.
All of the schools given the award have an economically disadvantaged population of 25 percent or more, according to the press release. And they’re all pioneering new techniques of teaching and learning, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Education.
One award-winning school in Fort Worth, the Young Women’s Leadership Academy, just opened in 2010 as Fort Worth ISD’s first single-gender school. Its first senior class will be graduating in June.
The reaction once students found out about the award? Screams of excitement and hugs of joy were captured in this video.
In North Texas, all of these schools were given the prominent Blue Ribbon award:
- Azle ISD – Cross Timbers Elementary School
- Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD – Rosemeade Elementary School
- Dallas ISD – George Bannerman Dealey International Academy
- Dallas ISD – George Bannerman Dealey Montessori Vanguard
- Dallas ISD – School of Health Professions at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center
- Fort Worth ISD – Young Women’s Leadership Academy
- Garland ISD – Hillside Academy for Excellence
The awards just go to show how incredible Texas schools really are.
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“A strong commitment to successful student outcomes is evident throughout the school year at every National Blue Ribbon campus, past and present, across our state,” said Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath.
For more information about the national Blue Ribbon Schools program, visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website here.
