The Girard Academic Music Program (GAMP) in Philadelphia is a college preparatory school that serves more than 600 students in grades five through 12. The Penn Alexander School serves just under 600 students in grades K-8 and is a partnership among the University of Pennsylvania and the School District of Philadelphia to build a model university-assisted public school for students in West Philadelphia.

The two schools were among 325 public and private elementary, middle and high schools across the nation to be named 2021 Blue Ribbon schools by the U.S. Department of Education. The schools were selected based on their overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. 

“To see two of our schools being recognized for their accomplishments during a year that was challenging should be a point of pride for our principals, teachers and students,” said Philadelphia Schools Superintendent William Hite.

This is the second designation for Penn Alexander, which was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in 2016.

In addition to Philadelphia, big-city schools were also recognized in Boston, Broward County (Fort Lauderdale), Chicago, Clark County (Las Vegas), Dallas, Denver, District of Columbia, Duval County (Jacksonville), East Baton Rouge Parish, El Paso, Fresno, Hawaii, Hillsborough County (Tampa), Houston, Jefferson County (Louisville), Los Angeles, Nashville, Miami Dade County, New Orleans, New York City, Orange County (Orlando), San Antonio, San Diego, and San Francisc