Several area schools are among the 28 in the state that have been announced as recipients in the Governor’s Blue Ribbon School Award program, which honors public and private K-12 schools with exemplary academic performance.

The statewide recognition was quickly instituted after the national Blue Ribbon Schools program, started in 1982, was recently eliminated by the U.S. Department of Education.

The national awards were instituted to recognize exemplary public and nonpublic schools based on student achievement measures. Illinois will continue the recognition using the same criteria — including assessment results, student subgroup performance, and accountability status, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

All 28 schools being lauded by the state — 15 public schools and 13

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