RALEIGH — Four North Carolina schools have been recognized as inaugural statewide “Blue Ribbon” schools by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.
“This recognition reflects the hard work of educators, students, families and communities working together to ensure every child has access to high-quality learning,” State Superintendent Mo Green said in a press release. “We celebrate these schools for their growth, achievement and commitment to student success as North Carolina’s inaugural Blue Ribbon Schools award recipients.”
The awards to the schools were based on 2023-24 accountability results, according to a press release by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI).
The press release said two categories of schools were considered for the award: Exemplary High Performing and Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing. Those categories mirror the National Blue Ribbon award, which has been discontinued.
The schools receiving the new state Blue Ribbon award include two schools in the Wake County Public Schools System, one in Henderson County and one in Moore County:
• Apex Friendship Middle School (Wake County) — Exemplary High Performing and Achievement Gap Closing
• Mills Park Middle School (Wake County) — Exemplary High Performing and Achievement Gap Closing
• Henderson County Early College (Henderson County) — Exemplary High Performing
• Pinehurst Elementary (Moore County) — Exemplary High Performing and Achievement Gap Closing
The schools will be recognized for their achievement at the State Board of Education meeting in December.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Madi Biedermann, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Communications and Outreach, notified state education officials of the end of the National Blue Ribbon award program in a letter dated Aug. 29.
“In the spirit of Returning Education to the States, USED is ending its role in the program,” Biedermann wrote. “State leaders are best positioned to recognize excellence in local schools based on educational achievements that align with their communities’ priorities for academic accomplishment and improvement.
“Awards conceived by those closest to the communities and families served by local schools will do more to encourage meaningful reforms than a one-size-fits-all standard established by a distant bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.”
Since 2021, 17 North Carolina public schools and one private school have received the National Blue Ribbon award. The private school, Durham’s Immaculate Catholic School, received the award in 2024.
