Two Northwest Arkansas schools are among five schools from Arkansas to be named National Blue Ribbon Schools on Tuesday by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
The recognition went to St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School in Rogers and Vandergriff Elementary School in Fayetteville.
Vandergriff previously received a Blue Ribbon award in 2009.
"I am so proud of our students, staff, and parents at Vandergriff,” Vandergriff Principal Andrea Sego said in a news release from Fayetteville School District. "The standards for this award are very high, and it took dedicated work by everyone involved to reach those standards. For decades our community has strongly valued and supported public education, and their commitment made this possible."
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students either achieve high learning standards or make notable improvements in closing the achievement gap, according to a news release from the department.
The remaining three schools from Arkansas are Mount Pleasant Elementary School in Mount Pleasant, Park Magnet School in Hot Springs and Valley View Junior High School in Jonesboro.
The U.S Department of Education will conduct a recognition ceremony on Nov. 9-10 in Washington, D.C., for 285 public and 50 private schools awarded this school year.