U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today recognized 325 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2021, including 13 schools in Michigan. The recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Secretary Cardona made the announcement during his Return to School Road Trip, while visiting an awardee school, Walter R. Sundling Jr. High School, in Palatine, Illinois.

The Michigan schools named as National Blue Ribbon Schools were:

• Ann Arbor – Martin Luther King Elementary School, Ann Arbor Public School District.
• Avoca – Avoca Elementary School, Yale Public School District.
• Bloomfield Hills – Conant Elementary School, Bloomfield Hills School District.
• Caledonia – Dutton Elementary School, Caledonia Community School District.
• Dearborn – Haigh Elementary School, Dearborn City School District.
• Dearborn – Henry Ford Early College, Dearborn City School District.
• Douglas – Douglas Elementary School, Saugatuck Public Schools.
• Holland – Lakeshore Elementary School, West Ottawa Public Schools.
• Lake Orion – Webber Elementary School, Lake Orion Community School District.
• Marquette – Graveraet Elementary School, Marquette Area Public School District.
• Mason – Alaiedon Elementary School, Mason Public School District (Ingham).
• Troy – Barnard Elementary School, Troy School District.
• Troy – Leonard Elementary School, Troy School District.

“This year’s cohort of honorees demonstrates what is possible when committed educators and school leaders create vibrant, welcoming, and affirming school cultures where rich teaching and learning can flourish,” said Secretary Cardona. “I commend all our Blue Ribbon honorees for working to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. In the face of unprecedented circumstances, you found creative ways to engage, care for, protect, and teach our children. Blue Ribbon Schools have so much to offer and can serve as a model for other schools and communities so that we can truly build back better.”

Martin Luther King Elementary School is located on Waldenwood Drive and has 525 students. Principal Mary Cooper, Ed.S. says, “Our focus is on building a learning community where students can be prepared for global opportunities. Everyone within our community is encouraged to do their personal best in a safe environment where we nurture respectful, responsible, and caring citizens of the world.”

The King student body is six percent Black, 33 percent White and 42 percent Asian. Families come from more than twenty different countries and students speak more than thirty-five languages.

The coveted National Blue Ribbon Schools award affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content. Now in its 39th year, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed approximately 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools.

The Department recognizes all schools in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:

• Exemplary High-Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
• Exemplary Achievement Gap-Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.

Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year. The Department invites National Blue Ribbon Schools nominations from the top education official in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education. Private schools are nominated by the Council for American Private Education.