MDE Establishes Mississippi Blue Ribbon Schools Program

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) announced Wednesday that it is establishing the Mississippi Blue Ribbon Schools Program. The U.S. Department of Education terminated its National Blue Ribbon School Program this past August. The Mississippi Blue Ribbon School designation uses the same criteria for selection as the now defunct national program and carries the same prestige. The program recognizes schools in both or either of two performance categories:

• Exemplary High Performing Schools: These schools are among the top performers in our state as measured by state assessments.
• Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools: These schools excel in narrowing achievement gaps between different student groups and the overall student body.

Congratulations to the following three schools selected by MDE as our state’s inaugural Mississippi Blue Ribbon Schools:

Exemplary High Performing Schools

• Beach Elementary School, Pascagoula-Gautier School District
• Ocean Springs High School, Ocean Springs School District

Exemplary High Performing School and Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing School

• Bayou View Elementary School, Gulfport School District