For the seventh time in 24 years, Montgomery County schools missed a state-level recognition of excellence.
Six Maryland schools on Tuesday were named as 2018-2019 Blue Ribbon schools for their high performance in math and reading proficiency, but no Montgomery County schools, often regarded as some of the most successful in the country, made the cut.
Last year, Bannockburn Elementary School in Bethesda and Luxmanor Elementary School in North Bethesda were selected as state Blue Ribbon schools, and went on to receive national honors.
Since 1994, 25 county schools have been named Maryland Blue Ribbon schools for what state officials describe as outstanding success in core education subjects. In that timeframe, the county has gone unrecognized in the 2002-2003, 2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and now 2018-2019 school years, according to state data.
The state Department of Education mandates that recognized schools must not have received Blue Ribbon awards within the past five years, which likely put some deserving county schools out of the running, county schools spokesperson Derek Turner said.
Turner noted 41 of the county’s 206 schools have received the award since the program began in 1982.
“We have a large number of schools that have been recipients, but we’ll continue to work to have some of the best schools in the state and, hopefully, the country,” Turner said.
To be selected as a state Blue Ribbon school, the performance of all students in reading and math must be in the top 15 percentile of all schools, based on state assessments; performance of “disadvantaged students” must be in the top 40 percentile of schools; and the graduation rate of nominated high schools must be within the top 15 percentile of state high schools.
The county school board is expected to adopt new English and math curriculum in January, after a study by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy determined the school system’s self-designed curriculum did not meet federal Common Core standards adopted by the State Board of Education.
Schools recognized were:
• Pinewood Elementary School, Baltimore County
• Mount Harmony Elementary School, Calvert County
• Urbana High School, Frederick County
• Clarksville Middle School, Howard County
• Glenarden Woods Elementary School, Prince George’s County
• Ocean City Elementary School, Worcester County
