News Release
For Immediate Release: September 24, 2013
Contact: Charles Pyle, Director of Communications, (804) 371-2420
Julie C. Grimes, Communications Manager, (804) 225-2775
RICHMOND – US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced today that seven Virginia public schools and three private schools were named 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement.
The public schools being recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools are as follows:
- Carrsville Elementary in Isle of Wight County
- Forest Hills Elementary in Danville
- Garrisonville Elementary in Stafford County
- L.L. Beazley Elementary in Prince George County
- Meriwether Lewis Elementary in Albemarle County
- Snowville Elementary in Pulaski County
- Westbriar Elementary in Fairfax County
“Each of these schools has maintained full state accreditation despite a significant increase in the rigor of the commonwealth’s standards, assessments and accountability benchmarks,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright said.
All seven public 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools earned awards earlier this year through the Virginia Index of Performance program. Snowville Elementary and Westbriar Elementary earned the Board of Education Excellence Award; and Carrsville Elementary, Forest Hills Elementary, Garrisonville Elementary, L.L. Beazley Elementary and Meriwether Lewis Elementary earned the Board of Education Distinguished Achievement Award.
The Council for American Private Education nominates private schools for Blue Ribbon awards each year. The following three PK-8 private schools in the commonwealth were designated as National Blue Ribbon Schools:
- Sacred Heart Academy in Winchester (Diocese of Arlington)
- Saint Veronica Catholic School in Chantilly (Diocese of Arlington)
- Saint Patrick Catholic School in Norfolk (Diocese of Richmond)
The National Blue Ribbon Schools are selected based on one of two criteria: performance on state assessments, or in the case of private schools, performance on national standardized tests; or schools with at least 40 percent of students from disadvantaged backgrounds that raise achievement as measured by state assessments or national standardized tests.
The US Department of Education will honor all of the nation’s 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools during a conference and awards ceremony November 18-19 in Washington, DC.
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