Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) congratulated St. James Elementary School in Red Bank on Friday on being recognized as one of the top-performing schools in the country with a National Blue Ribbon School honor by the U.S. Department of Education.

“There are few greater priorities we should have as a country than the education of our children, and I am thrilled that St. James is being honored as a national Blue Ribbon School for its exemplary record in this regard,” Rep. Smith stated. “St. James earned this honor for not only its outstanding test results among all students, but its high graduation rate—exemplifying both excellence in education and in ensuring that all students are well-served by its teachers and staff.”

“So many individuals have poured their hearts and souls into this school, and we can’t thank them enough. I have always known that great things were taking place here at SJES- now our practices have been recognized and validated,” said Mrs. JoAnn Giordano, principal of Saint James School.

Across the country, 349 public and private schools have been honored as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2018—including 49 New Jersey schools—representing 47 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and military bases. Since 1982, more than 8,500 schools around the country have received the award.

The National Blue Ribbon School award affirms the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master a challenging curriculum. The National Blue Ribbon School flag gracing an entry or flying overhead is a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning.

St. James was honored as an “Exemplary High Performing School,” meeting the criteria of it students performing in the top 15 percent of testing for English language arts and mathematics for state and/or national tests, the disaggregated results for student groups similar to the results of all students, and the graduation rate of 95 percent or higher. The school enrolls 355 students in grade levels Pre-K through 8 in challenging curricula.

“Congratulations to the staff, students, and parents at St. James for their collective effort to earn this greatly-desired award,” Smith said. “Hard work pays off. It’s certainly something to brag about.”

St. James was one of four schools in Smith’s Fourth Congressional District to be recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools. The three other schools were: St. Leo School in Lincroft; St. Catharine School in Spring Lake; and Monmouth County Academy of Allied Health & Science in Neptune.          

The list of all 2018 National Blue Ribbon Schools is available on the U. S. Department of Education’s website at https://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2018/national.pdf.