Pleasanton School Earns 'National Blue Ribbon' Honor

PLEASANTON, CA — Thomas S. Hart Middle School in Pleasanton was awarded "National Blue Ribbon Schools" status Friday — a U.S. Department of Education honor for academic success bestowed on 297 schools nationwide for 2022.

The recognition is based on overall academic excellence or progress in closing achievement gaps — an award that affirms the work of students, educators, families and communities, the department said.

"We are honored and delighted to be a National Blue Ribbon School!" officials said.

Hart will be formally honored in early November by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel A. Cardona at a ceremony in Washington D.C.

"Blue Ribbon Schools have gone above and beyond to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional and mental health needs," Cardona said during his "Road to Success Back to School" bus tour. "These schools show what is possible to make an enduring, positive difference in students’ lives.”

"The staff at Hart Middle School strives to form partnerships with parents/guardians and students that create an educational atmosphere that promotes academic and social preparedness for the 21st century," officials said of the campus that serves more than 1,200 sixth through eighth graders.

During its 39-year history, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has given approximately 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools. Along with the recognition, the selected "model schools" are presented National Blue Ribbon School flags for display at campus entryways or on flagpoles, officials said.

The U.S. Department of Education makes its decision on award-winning schools based on one of two performance categories for student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:

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

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