NATIONAL SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE

St. Mary School has received four National School of Excellence Blue Ribbon Awards from the U.S. Department of Education. In 1986, St. Mary was the FIRST Catholic elementary school in Cincinnati to be cited as an exemplary school and was among the first of 34 Catholic schools in the nation to earn the honor that year; eight were in the state of Ohio. In 1994, the Department of Education once again selected St. Mary as a school of excellence, one of only 38 Catholic schools cited for the award and, at the time, among only 115 schools ever to achieve the designation twice. St. Mary School received the National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence again in 2006 and 2023.

St. Mary School has been repeatedly selected as a National School of Excellence because of these factors:

• The overall positive, nurturing atmosphere, where each child is encouraged by caring adults who recognize their individual importance, is a sign that education is really working at St. Mary, and our motto, “Love Spoken Here,” is alive and well.
• Our school nurtures each student’s success and enthusiasm through outstanding educational success, participation in enrichment programs, and ability to use creative and critical thinking skills.
• St. Mary stands above the rest because of our people. St. Mary teachers and parents are exceptional. As true partners in the education of each child, teachers and parents strive to provide the greatest amount of enrichment with the most current research-based methodology of education.
• Standardized test scores rank consistently in the top 10 percent in the nation.