Garrett Neese/DMG A blue ribbon adorns the Houghton Elementary School after the school was recognized as one of the U.S. Department of Education’s Blue Ribbon Schools for 2023. The award was given to 353 schools nationally recognized for high academic achievement or for closing achievement gaps among students.

HOUGHTON — Houghton Elementary School is being recognized as one of the nation’s best.

The U.S. Department of Education honored Houghton and 352 other schools around the country as National Blue Ribbon Schools. The annual award looks at schools’ academic performance or its progress in closing achievement gaps among students in standardized tests.

Up to 420 schools can win in a given year.

Houghton was nominated by the state as one of its highest-performing schools, as measured by scores on Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP), said Principal Cole Klein.

“We’re very excited to receive this honor and be recognized nationally,” he said. “We know we’re a top school, and this validates and affirms everything we’ve been doing for a number of years. We’ve historically done well on the M-STEP test, and this is one more way to recognize our students, teachers, staff and community, because everybody plays a part.”

In 40 years, about 9,700 schools nationwide have received the award.

Before this year, only one Upper Peninsula school had ever won. That number doubled this year, as Norway Elementary School joined Houghton in getting a Blue Ribbon.

Public announcements were embargoed until Tuesday afternoon, but school administrators got a heads-up. In the morning, Klein put blue ribbons on the Houghton Elementary School sign, and on every teacher’s door.

“Staff came in and I released it to our staff, and they were just thrilled to have this recognition,” he said. “This is a really big deal. It was very uplifting and encouraging for our staff. And the students were all excited about ‘What were the blue ribbons for?'”

They found out at 1 p.m., when the news was officially announced. Klein made blue ribbons for each student declaring the school’s Blue Ribbon award, which they got to take home.

“It was really neat to see the students leaving with the ribbons, excited about our school and knowing our school is a top school in the country,” he said.

Congratulations from parents and the community also started pouring in, Klein said.

“It’s definitely a credit to our teachers and staff, but it’s bigger than that,” he said. “It really takes parent involvement and community involvement as well, in supporting our students, and it makes our school a great place to be.”