TOPEKA — Four Kansas elementary schools have been named 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools, U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona announced Monday, Sept. 23.

There are 356 schools across the country that are part of this year’s National Blue Ribbon cohort, including the following in Kansas, recognized in the Exemplary High Performing Schools category:

• Garfield Elementary School, Augusta USD 402
• Herington Elementary School, Herington USD 487
• Lincoln Elementary School, Geary County USD 475
• Sunflower Elementary School, Paola USD 368

The Blue Ribbon program recognizes public and private elementary, middle and high schools in one of two performance categories:

• Exemplary High Performing Schools: These schools are among the top performers in their state as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
• Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools: These schools excel in narrowing achievement gaps between different student groups and the overall student body.

Educators in National Blue Ribbon schools employ effective teaching methods with data-driven instruction, participate in robust professional development and collaborate with their students’ families and community in a concerted effort to ensure every student reaches their potential.

In Kansas, 149 (141 public and eight private schools) have been designated as National Blue Ribbon Schools since the program’s inception in 1983.

This is the first time Sunflower Elementary and a Paola USD 368 school has received the blue ribbon recognition. Herington Elementary earned the blue ribbon distinction once before in 2007. Garfield Elementary in Augusta was also a blue ribbon school in 2006. This is the first time Lincoln Elementary has been given blue ribbon status and joins several of Geary County USD 475’s elementary schools that have earned this distinction when Custer Hill Elementary was the first in the district to be designated a National Blue Ribbon school in 2002.

Go to https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/ for more information.

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