Congratulations to the North Shore School District on the recent news that North Shore High School has been selected for this year’s Blue Ribbon Award. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is allowed to nominate 19 schools to the U.S. Department of Education for the 2021 National Blue Ribbon Award for the “Exemplary High Performing School” category.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Peter Giarrizzo said, “Nominations for the National Blue Ribbon are made to those schools who perform at the highest levels of whole school performance, subgroup performance, and high school graduation rates/College & Career Readiness. It is well known that North Shore High School has consistently performed at a high level. Our approaches in teaching strong process skills guided by our Shared Valued Outcomes differentiate a North Shore education from all others. Congratulations to our students and our fine administrators and teachers for their unwavering commitment to extraordinary teaching and learning.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Every year the U.S. Department of Education seeks out and celebrates great American schools, schools demonstrating that all students can achieve to high levels. The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed almost 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools, with some schools winning multiple awards. Schools are eligible for nomination after five years. The coveted National Blue Ribbon School award affirms the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content.
North Shore High School Principal Eric Contreras stated, “We are honored to be selected as a candidate school for the National Blue Ribbon Award. The designation validates and affirms our exemplary work inside and outside our classrooms. It speaks to our community’s commitment to the whole child and personalized learning experiences aligned to our shared values. The dedicated and daily work of our faculty, and the coherent support of our district and the board in support of our wonderful students is the bedrock and basis of our Blue Ribbon designation.”
Next Steps
All nominees must complete an application to the U.S. Department of Education. The New York State Education Department will review all schools that have replied and have expressed an interest in being nominated. NYSED will then select the final 19 NYS Blue Ribbon nominees to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education. If chosen, NYSED will submit your school's information to the US Department of Education. In September 2021, the Secretary of Education will announce the 2021 National Blue Ribbon Schools.