DUNCAN ANNOUNCES 2013 BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS

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Duncan Announces 2013 Blue Ribbon Schools.

At least 115 media outlets across the country are covering Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s announcement of the 286 winners of the 2013 Blue Ribbon Schools award. Coverage is mostly local in scale--with some state-level reports--and is overwhelmingly positive in tone. Many articles relate Duncan’s comments praising the schools.

Coverage in Maryland is typical of the states with several reports, and the Baltimore Sun (9/24, Green) reports that Duncan named 11 schools in the state to the "prestigious" list. The Sun lists a number of local schools that won the award, noting that two are private schools, and quotes Duncan saying, "Excellence in education matters and we should honor the schools that are leading the way to prepare students for success in college and careers. National Blue Ribbon schools represent examples of educational excellence, and their work reflects the belief that every child in America deserves a world-class education." The Sun explains that schools make the list either through topping state assessments or "improving achievement levels of its most disadvantaged students."

In a separate article, the Baltimore Sun (9/24, Toth) profiles Folly Quarter Middle School, "the only school in Howard County to receive the honor this year." This article relates the reactions of local administrators and educators, and notes that over 7,000 schools have won the distinction since 1982. The piece notes that ED’s website says that the Blue Ribbon Schools program "recognizes public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students perform at ‘very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students’ academic achievement.’"

Other articles that cover Maryland’s Blue Ribbon Schools include the Gaithersburg (MD) Gazette (9/24), the Annapolis (MD) Capital Gazette (9/25, Lambert), WBAL-AM Baltimore (9/25, Wykoff), and WJZ-TV Baltimore (9/24).

Duncan Notifies Schools Of Blue Ribbon Honors Via USTREAM. In a notable example, the Baton Rouge (LA) Advocate (9/25, Lussier) reports that six Louisiana schools made the list, including three in the New Orleans area. The piece notes that "the lone private school on the list is Most Blessed Sacrament School" in Baton Rouge, and relates Principal Maria Cloessner’s comments about the school’s application process. The Advocate reports that on Tuesday morning, students "went to a school assembly" at which Education Secretary Arne Duncan "appeared via live streaming to let the students and faculty know that they were indeed Blue Ribbon recipients." The Charleston (SC) Chronicle (9/25) notes that Duncan "made this year’s announcement live via the Department’s USTREAM channel."

Coverage across the nation follows this pattern, with the number of articles per state ranging from zero to eight.