Richard Woods, the state school superintendent for Georgia, was enthusiastic in his congratulations to the eight schools and noted how proud he was of this achievement. In a news release, he said:
"The students, teachers, staff, and families of these schools have worked tirelessly, particularly during the last year and a half, and their efforts are paying off in increased achievement for students."
The Blue-Ribbon designation is a national recognition of excellence throughout the United States and is awarded by the United States Department of Education (USED). A maximum of 420 schools may be nominated per year. Two performance designations for schools are recognized by the USED: the Exemplary High Performing and Exemplary Achievement Gap-Closing schools.
Real estate agencies frequently include awards received by schools in the materials they send to printing services when advertising their listings in a specific school district
The first category, the high-performing schools, are among the highest-performing primary and secondary educational institutions in their state, per nationally normed tests or state assessments. The second category, the Achievement Gap Closing Schools, primary and secondary educational institutions in their state in reducing the achievement gaps present between all students and a school’s student groups.