Pair of Park Ridge parochial schools earn ‘Blue Ribbon’

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Updated: November 10, 2011 3:33PM

Two Park Ridge Catholic schools are among more than 300 schools in the nation to be receive 2011 Blue Ribbon School Awards from the U.S. Department of Education.

Mary, Seat of Wisdom Catholic School, 1352 S. Cumberland Ave., and St. Paul of the Cross Catholic School, 140 S. Northwest Highway, were recognized as high-performing schools in the areas of English and math. Representatives from the schools will receive their Blue Ribbon Awards during a November ceremony in Washington, D.C.

“The Blue Ribbon Award is a public validation of what we know is excellence at Mary, Seat of Wisdom School,” said Principal Judy Schutter in a press release issued by the school.

The Rev. Gerald Gunderson, pastor of Mary, Seat of Wisdom Church, congratulated the school’s faculty and staff for what he called a “well-deserved award.”

“Our parish has invested in our Catholic school since its opening in the 1950s,” he said. “Catholic education has been a parish priority at MSW and we have graduated over 3,500 of our parish children from Mary, Seat of Wisdom School.”

“I could not be more thrilled,” added St. Paul Principal Lorelei Bobroff. “It is truly a recognition of a lot of the work that every teacher, faculty and staff member and student does in regards to the education of students here at St. Paul of the Cross.”

The schools were nominated by the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). They are among six Catholic Schools in the Chicago Archdiocese and among 49 private schools in the nation to be recognized with a Blue Ribbon Award this year.

Since 1982, when the U.S. Department of Education began presenting the awards, 61 Blue Ribbon Awards have been given to Catholic schools within the Chicago Archdiocese, the Archdiocese said.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools that are either high-performing or have improved student achievement to high levels, especially among disadvantaged students.