Chicago Public Schools had six schools that were recently recognized as 2020 National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education. The six schools are among the 367 across the nation honored for their overall academic performance or progress in closing the achievement among student subgroups.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public, private, and parochial schools in one of two performance categories:

• Exemplary High Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments on nationally normed tests.
  
  
• Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s subgroups and all students over the past five years.

“Six National Blue Ribbon schools in one year is an unprecedented accomplishment for our district and a testament to the hard work of educators, school leaders, families, and—above all else—students whose commitment to academic excellence is nothing short of inspiring,” said Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson. “Congratulations to each of these school communities on this incredible achievement and making us all so proud to be members of the CPS family.” 

In addition to schools in Chicago, Blue Ribbon honors were also presented to big-city schools in Albuquerque, Anchorage, Austin, Buffalo, Broward County (Fort Lauderdale), Charlotte, Cincinnati, Clark County (Las Vegas), Dallas, Denver, Washington, D.C., El Paso, Fort Worth, Hawaii, Houston, Long Beach, Louisville, Miami, New York City, Omaha, Philadelphia, Palm Beach County, Sacramento, Santa Ana, San Diego, San Francisco and Wichita. Long Beach, El Paso, Denver, Hawaii and Washington, D.C., had two schools recognized, while Dallas, Houston and Clark County had three schools recognized. New York City had six schools recognized.