Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) congratulated St. Catharine School in Spring Lake on Tuesday 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. Catharine is being honored as a national Blue Ribbon School for its exemplary record in this regard,” Rep. Smith stated. “St. Catharine 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.”

“The Blue Ribbon award is reflective of our students’ outstanding achievements, as well as our hard working team of faculty and staff at Saint Catharine School,” said Mr. Robert J. Dougherty, Principal of St. Catharine School in Spring Lake.  “Reaching this goal would not be possible without the collective efforts of the dedicated families, alumni, parishioners, the Diocese of Trenton Department of Catholic Schools, and the amazing PTA of St. Catharine School.  It’s truly incredible how much we are able to accomplish with the support of our school community.”

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. Catharine was honored as an “Exemplary High Performing School,” meeting the criteria of its 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.

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

St. Catharine 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. James Elementary School in Red Bank; 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.