These 3 Massachusetts schools earned ‘Blue Ribbon’ status in 2017
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced the 2017 cohort of National Blue Ribbon Schools Thursday, including three public elementary schools in Massachusetts.
Heights Elementary School in Sharon and White Street Elementary School in Springfield received the designation as “Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools,” while Old Post Road School in Walpole earned Blue Ribbon status under “Exemplary High Performing Schools.”
According to a U.S. Department of Education release, “The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students achieve very high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap.”
The three Bay State schools, along with the other 339 who received the honor this year, will be recognized at a November ceremony in Washington, D.C.
“There are more than 130,000 schools in the United States and you’re at the top,” DeVos said in a video sent to award-winning schools. “Some might say your students are achieving unimaginable success, but they imagined it, and you are there walking side-by-side with them every day meeting their unique needs.”
Fifteen other schools from around New England earned Blue Ribbon status as well, including five in Connecticut, four in New Hampshire, and three in both Maine and Rhode Island.
Find more information about New England’s Blue Ribbon schools here.
