Seven New York City schools earn Blue Ribbon award

Seven New York City public schools earned a Blue Ribbon designation, an honor given to fewer than 350 schools nationwide this year.

The award is presented to schools based on overall academic excellence or their progress at closing the achievement gap among student groups. The New York City schools hailed from all five boroughs, and three had more than 70 percent of students qualify for free lunch in 2014.

This year’s winners included P.S. 100 in Coney Island, P.S. 277 in Gerritsen Beach, and P.S. 682, a small school known as The Academy of Talented Scholars. Queens’ P.S. 244, known as TALES — which has been recognized for its efforts to encourage healthy living and saw opt-out protests last year — also won, as did Staten Island’s P.S. 5 and two charter schools, Bronx’s Icahn Charter School 2 and Manhattan’s Harlem Success Academy Charter School 3.

“This award is a credit to our exceptionally hardworking and dedicated teachers — and a wonderful affirmation of our belief that all children will succeed when given access to a great school,” Tara Stant, principal at Success Academy Harlem 3, said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recognized 335 schools with the award, 285 public and 50 private schools.

The full list of this year’s winners:

  • Harlem Success Academy Charter School 3, Manhattan’s District 4
  • Icahn Charter School 2, Bronx’s District 11
  • P.S. 5 The Huguenot School, Staten Island
  • P.S. 100 The Coney Island School, Brooklyn’s District 21
  • P.S. 244 The Active Learning Elementary School, Queens’ District 25
  • P.S. 277 The Gerritsen Beach School, Brooklyn’s District 22
  • P.S. 682 The Academy of Talented Scholars, Brooklyn’s District 20