1 Manalapan School Selected As U.S. Blue Ribbon School

MANALAPAN — Several New Jersey schools were honored as Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday, including one in Manalapan. The award recognizes a school’s overall academic performance as well the commitment by staff to help students succeed.

In all, 325 schools were named to the 2021 list. Now in its 39th year, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has given approximately 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools.

Included on this year’s list are nine schools located in New Jersey.

Here’s a look at this year’s New Jersey winners:

Wemrock Brook School, Manalapan
School type: Elementary School
District: Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School

Weymouth Township Elementary School, Dorothy
School type: Elementary School
District: Weymouth Township School

Academy For Information Technology, Scotch Plains
School type: High School
District: Union County Vocational-Technical School

Hillside Elementary School, Closter
School type: Elementary School
District: Closter Public School

John F Kennedy Elementary School, Jamesburg
School type: Elementary School
District: Jamesburg Public School

Lucy N. Holman Elementary School, Jackson
School type: Elementary School
District: Jackson School

North End School, Cedar Grove
School type: Elementary School
District: Cedar Grove Township

Torey J Sabatini Elementary School, Madison
School type: Elementary School
District: Madison Public School

Walter M Schirra Elementary School, Old Bridge
School type: Elementary School
District: Old Bridge Township

Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year, according to the Department of Education. Nominees are selected by top education officials in states and territories, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Blue Ribbon Schools are then selected based on their performance in one of two categories:

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

Schools are also selected based on student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates.

This year’s nominees “illustrate what is possible” during tough times, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a news release.

"I commend this school and all our Blue Ribbon honorees for working to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs,” Cardona said in the release. “In the face of unprecedented circumstances, you found creative ways to engage, care for, protect, and teach our children.”