Western named National Blue Ribbon School
On September 15, 2009 U.S. Department of Education named Western a National Blue Ribbon School. The honor was accorded to only 314 schools accross the nation, and acknowledges Western as one the best in the country. According to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, "These Blue Ribbon Schools have shown that all children can learn with appropriate supports," Duncan said. "They are producing outstanding results for their students."
The Department cited Western for its academic superiority: its students achieved in the top 10 percent on state tests. Among schools that reached that level of excellence, Western was one of only 15 high schools in the entire country whose population consisted of at least 40% students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In Maryland, no other school in that category was cited for meeting the excellence criteria.
Western was named a Maryland Blue Ribbon School in December 2008, and was cited by the Maryland State Department of Education for its high pass rates on the state High School Assessment (HSA) in both reading (99 percent) and math (98 percent), and for the fact that all Western graduates won admission to four year colleges and universities.
View the announcement by the United States Department of Education and the press release from the Baltimore City Public School System.