AUSTIN, Tex. – February 10, 2020 - The Texas Education Agency announced today the nomination of 26 Texas public schools as 2020 National Blue Ribbon School designees.

Initiated by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) in 1982, the National Blue Ribbon Schools program recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools that have high student achievement and/or highlights where exemplary progress has been made in closing achievement gaps among student subpopulations. Since the program’s founding, 7,000 schools across the nation have received this prestigious designation.

In the Lone Star State, public schools are considered for nomination based on student performance on the first administration of the previous year’s STAAR assessments. Each nominated school has an economically disadvantaged population of 25 percent or more.

The nominated schools in Texas for 2020 include the following:

Exemplary High-Performing Schools

Exemplary Achievement-Gap-Closing Schools

The nominated schools must now complete a rigorous application process conducted by the USDE. National award winners will be announced in September, 2020. Schools that receive the designation are recognized at the Blue Ribbon Schools Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C.

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