Horne, ADE recognize six AZ Blue Ribbon Schools

Honors academic growth and excellence

PHOENIX – Six Arizona schools have been recognized as Blue Ribbon Schools by state schools superintendent Tom Horne and the Arizona Department of Education today.

The schools receiving honors are Academy of Math and Science in Peoria, Chinle Elementary School in Chinle, Tucson’s Empire High School, the Maricopa Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Saint John Bosco Catholic School of Phoenix and Tempe’s Ward Traditional Academy.

Horne said, “My primary focus as superintendent is on academic excellence, and these schools can be justifiably proud of this accomplishment because it is based on academic success. Students and educators should always work toward continuous improvement in academic achievement, and Blue Ribbon Schools demonstrate that when schools lead students into challenging themselves, they will excel academically.”

The Blue Ribbon School program is now overseen at the state level. It honors schools that have demonstrated academic excellence based on assessment scores or narrowing gaps in student performance by closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students. It has historically been open to public and private K-12 schools since 1982.