October 1, 2018 (Louisville, Ky.)–Today, the United States Department of Education announced that two Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Louisville are 2018 National Blue Ribbon Schools. Two elementary schools serving preschool through grade 8 will be recognized: Our Lady of Lourdes School (501 Breckenridge Lane, Louisville, Ky.) and Sacred Heart Model School (3105 Lexington Road, Louisville, Ky.), both for the second time. Our Lady of Lourdes first received the Blue Ribbon award in 2008, and Sacred Heart Model was recognized first in 2001.
These two schools are among five public and six non-public schools recognized in the state of Kentucky. Our Lady of Lourdes and Sacred Heart Model School were the only two schools recognized in Jefferson County. Three hundred forty-nine schools were honored nationwide; 49 of those were non-public schools.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors schools for helping students achieve at very high levels or for making significant progress in closing the achievement gap. Our Lady of Lourdes and Sacred Heart Model received recognition as Exemplary High Performing Schools, which have the highest achieving students (the top 15%) in English and mathematics as measured by a nationally normed assessment.
The two schools join five secondary schools and thirteen other elementary schools that have previously received this award one or more times. The five secondary schools are Assumption High School, Mercy Academy, Sacred Heart Academy, Trinity High School, and Saint Xavier High School, all in Louisville. The thirteen other elementary schools are Saint Agnes, Saint Albert, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Gabriel, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Saint Margaret Mary, Saint Mary Academy, Saint Patrick, Saint Raphael, all in Louisville, and Saint Aloysius in Pewee Valley, Ky., Saint James in Elizabethtown, Ky., and Saint Joseph in Bardstown, Ky.
Representatives from the schools will travel to Washington, D.C. on November 7-8, 2018 to formally receive the award. Local celebrations also are being planned.
For information, call: Cecelia Price at 502/585-3291 (office) or 502/417-7187 (cell).
