St. Peter School has been educating folks for almost 145 years.
It’s always great when someone gets recognized for doing something good. It’s even better when it’s someone, something, or someplace in our neighborhood.
And, that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday: St. Peter School was recognized as a 2013 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the awards via live web stream. The 286 schools nationwide to receive the reward will be recognized at a ceremony in November.
“We are absolutely thrilled to receive the National Blue Ribbon award! As a community, our ambition is to ‘always reach higher,” said St. Peter School Principal Jennifer Ketchum. “This award reflects our commitment to high standards and climate of high expectations; the outstanding dedication and talent of our faculty and staff; and the positive work ethic of our students.”
Each year up to 420 schools nationwide can be nominated for Blue Ribbon Excellence, with recognition distributed based on the number of K-12 students in each jurisdiction. St. Peter School was nationally recognized as “Exemplary High Performing,” a category in which private schools are recognized among the nation’s highest performing schools, as measured by nationally-normed tests.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools award honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students’ levels of achievement.
This year, 236 public schools and 50 private schools were honored. St. Peter School and DC Preparatory Edgewood Elementary Campus were the only two locations in the District to receive the award this year. They bring the total of DC schools to be recognized as Blue Ribbon Schools to sixteen.