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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon Schools

    Since 1982, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Blue Ribbon Schools (NBRS) program has annually honored America’s most successful public and non-public elementary, middle, and high schools. Due to the disbanding of the National Blue Ribbon Schools program the choice of continuing the program is now up to individual states.

     

    In 2025 Pennsylvania recognized its inaugural Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon Schools based on the U.S. Department of Education’s National Blue Ribbon Schools (NBRS) program. Beginning in 2026, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) will select 12 schools based on the new Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon Selection Criteria. 

    Selection Criteria for Public Schools

    Rather than through an application process, PDE identifies and selects eligible public schools for recognition based on the criteria below. The following public schools are eligible under these criteria:

    • Any school in a school district;
    • Charter school entities; and
    • Comprehensive career and technical centers.

    To be eligible for selection, a public school must:

    • Be in the top 15% for Whole School Improvement. Whole School Improvement is based on the school’s growth score;
    • Show growth for each applicable Federal student sub-group. A school that does not have a sufficient sample size according to Future Ready PA Index data will be considered based on the All-student group alone;
    • Meet or exceed the interim target for all applicable federal sub-groups in regular attendance;
    • Be at or above the state average for Least Restrictive Environment;
    • Have an engaged Student Assistance Program (SAP) connected to outside agencies or organizations;
    • Not have received the award in the past five years;
    • Not be currently designated for school improvement (CSI, ATSI, TSI);
    • Have met the 95% assessment participation requirement for federal accountability;
    • Not be flagged for significant disproportionality;
    • Not be on the risk assessment list for Title funds;
    • Not be currently identified as persistently dangerous;
    • Meet special education determinations and is not in any form of corrective action regarding special education; and
    • If applicable, not be in corrective action for career and technical education programs.

    From the pool of eligible schools, PDE will select up to 10 total public schools for recognition as a Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon School, taking into consideration geographic representation across the Commonwealth and representation of elementary, middle, and high school grade levels.

    Criteria for Occupational Career and Technical Centers

    PDE will select one Occupational Career and Technical Center for recognition as a Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon School.

    To be eligible for selection, an Occupational Career and Technical Center must:

    1. Be in the top 15% of Career and Technical Center graduates scoring Competent or Advanced on the NOCTI/NIMS;
    2. Meet or exceed the statewide average for the federal postsecondary outcomes indicator (i.e., graduating student enlisted in the military, enrolled in a postsecondary school, registered for an apprenticeship or is employed); and
    3. Meet or exceed the statewide average for the number of Career and Technical Education concentrators earning a postsecondary or industry credential.

    Criteria for Private/Non-Public Schools

    PDE will select one private or nonpublic school for recognition as a Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon School.

    Unlike public schools, private and nonpublic schools are selected through an application process.

    Interested private and nonpublic schools should submit the Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon Application for Private/Non-Public Schools to RA-EDNominations@pa.gov by October 16, 2026.

    Applications will be reviewed by the PDE Office of School Services and the Division of Planning and Professional Development using the information provided in the application.

    If you have questions about the Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon Schools program, contact the Division of Planning and Professional Development at RA-EDNominations@pa.gov.