ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor’s Community High School has been deemed among the best in the state as it was among 13 Michigan schools recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and non-public elementary, middle, and high schools where students achieve very high learning standards. Schools are awarded based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

Public schools are nominated by each state’s education department. Non-public schools are nominated by the Council for American Private Education.

“It is rare for this esteemed honor to be given to a high school program, with a very small percentage of high schools awarded in the U.S.,” Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Jeanice Swift said. “We are very fortunate that the exemplary work at Community, under the leadership of Dean Marci Tuzinsky and the exceptional performance of our Community High School teachers, staff and students, has been recognized with this prestigious national distinction.”

Community High School joins other Ann Arbor Public Schools that have received Blue Ribbon designation in recent years: Allen Elementary received the Blue Ribbon designation in 2017, Angell Elementary and Wines Elementary Schools in 2015 and King Elementary School was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2014.

This year, the U.S. Department of Education is honoring 362 National Blue Ribbon Schools at a recognition ceremony on Nov. 14 and 15 in Washington, D.C. Each school receives a banner and plaque.

The following schools from Michigan were designated as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2019: