September 28, 2016
Today, the United States Department of Education announced that two Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Louisville have been named 2016 Blue Ribbon Schools. One elementary school serving preschool through grade 8, St. Francis of Assisi (1938 Alfresco Place, Louisville, Ky.), will be recognized for the first time. St. Xavier High School (1609 Poplar Level Road, Louisville, Ky.) will be recognized for the fourth time (1984, 1989, 1993, 2016). St. Xavier was the first school recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in the Archdiocese of Louisville.
These two schools are among 10 schools in the state of Kentucky, and they are among three schools in Jefferson County to win this award in 2016. Three hundred twenty-nine schools were honored nationwide; 50 of those were non-public schools.
The No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools award honors schools for helping students achieve at very high levels or for making significant progress in closing the achievement gap. These four schools were honored as Exemplary High Performing Schools, which are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally-normed tests.
The two schools join four other secondary schools and thirteen other elementary schools that have previously received this award. The four other secondary schools are Assumption High School, Mercy Academy, Sacred Heart Academy, and Trinity High School. The thirteen other elementary schools are St. Agnes, St. Albert, St. Gabriel, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Margaret Mary, St. Mary Academy, St. Patrick, St. Raphael, and Sacred Heart Model, all in Louisville, and St. Aloysius in Pewee Valley and St. James in Elizabethtown, Ky.
Representatives from the schools will travel to Washington, D.C. on November 7 and 8, 2016 to formally receive the award. Local celebrations also are being planned.
For further information call: Cecelia Price, 502/585-3291 or 502/417-7187 (cell).
