MONTGOMERY, Ala. – When the U.S. Department of Education discontinued its long-running National Blue Ribbon Schools program last year, five Alabama schools were already in the running.
On Thursday, during their regular meeting, the State Board of Education chose to recognize them anyway.
The schools were among more than 50 honored during the board’s regular meeting in Montgomery, including those recognized for their performance on Alabama’s 2025 state report card.
While the board’s resolution referred to them as “Nominated 2025 Blue Ribbon Schools,” State Superintendent Eric Mackey told reporters after the meeting there was a “99.9%” chance they would have received the designation had the federal program continued.
“These are great schools,” Mackey said. “We know when we nominate them, they meet all the criteria.”
The Nominated 2025 Blue Ribbon Schools are:
- Lakewood Elementary School in Phenix City Schools;
- Shades Mountain Elementary in Hoover City Schools;
- Kilby Laboratory School in Florence City Schools;
- Monte Sano Elementary School in Huntsville City Schools; and
- Heritage Elementary School in Madison City Schools
Mackey, who oversees the state’s nominations, said he was surprised the federal program was discontinued mid-cycle but said the schools still deserved recognition. Board members in January asked that the nominees be formally acknowledged.
He said Alabama officials have discussed creating a state-level recognition program to replace the federal award, though he suggested the national criteria would need to be updated.
“If we do that,” Mackey said, “we would tie it somehow to our legislative recognition schools, and we would develop our own criteria.”
Though the program’s official website has been removed, archived pages show the 2025 nomination criteria, application requirements for nominated schools and a list of past winners.
Seven Alabama private schools have previously won the award after being nominated by the Council for American Private Education. No private Alabama schools were nominated in 2025.
In addition to honoring the Blue Ribbon nominees, the board recognized schools through Alabama’s Legislative Recognition Program, which is tied to performance on the state’s 2025 school report card.
[A dashboard allowing users to see more details about the school and district report cards is at this link. It is best viewed on a large screen.]
Schools qualified in one of two ways: By ranking in the top 25% statewide or by improving their overall grade by at least one letter.
The Top 25 Most Improved schools each received an $8,000 award, while the Top 25 highest-scoring schools received $2,000.
The Top 25 Most Improved Schools
- Birmingham City Schools:
- BCS Virtual Academy of Learning
- Huffman Academy
- Norwood Elementary
- Robinson Elementary
- Wenonah High School
- Butler County Schools:
- Greenville High School
- Cherokee County Schools
- Cherokee County High School
- Choctaw County Schools
- South Choctaw Elementary
- Cleburne County Schools
- Ranburne High School
- Cullman County
- Hanceville Elementary
- Decatur City Schools
- Austinville Elementary
- Oak Park Elementary
- Gadsden City Schools
- Walnut Park Elementary
- Hale County Schools
- Greensboro Elementary
- Haleyville City Schools
- Haleyville High School
- Huntsville City Schools
- Chapman Middle
- Montview Elementary
- LEAD Academy Charter, PK-4th grade Building A
- Lee County Schools
- Beulah Elementary
- Sanford Middle
- Montgomery County Schools
- Highland Gardens Elementary
- Morris Elementary
- Randolph County Schools
- Wedowee Elementary
- Selma City Schools
- Clark Elementary
- Tuscaloosa City Schools
- Oakdale Elementary
The Top 25 Scoring Schools
- Birmingham City Schools:
- EPIC Alternative Elementary
- Decatur City Schools
- Benjamin Davis Elementary
- Leon Sheffield Magnet Elementary
- Gadsden City Schools
- Eura Brown Elementary
- Homewood City Schools
- Edgewood Elementary
- Hoover City Schools
- Brock’s Gap Intermediate
- Deer Valley Elementary
- South Shades Crest Elementary
- Huntsville City Schools
- Hampton Cove Elementary
- Monte Sano Elementary
- Mobile County Schools
- Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies
- Eichold-Mertz School of Math and Science
- Old Shell Road Magnet
- W.H. Council Traditional School
- Montgomery County Schools
- Bear Exploration Center
- Forest Avenue Elementary
- Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School
- Mountain Brook City Schools
- Brookwood Forest Elementary
- Cherokee Bend Elementary
- Crestline Elementary
- Mountain Brook Elementary
- Orange Beach City Schools
- Orange Beach Elementary School
- Tuscaloosa City Schools
- Tuscaloosa Magnet – Elementary
- Vestavia Hills City Schools
- Vestavia Hills Elementary East
- Vestavia Hills Elementary West
The Legislative Recognition Program awards are funded by the state and tied directly to Alabama’s annual school grading system, which assigns A–F grades based on academic performance and growth.
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