On Oct. 6, the Nebraska Department of Education announced that seven Nebraska schools were honored as 2025 Blue Ribbon schools, including Mount Michael. The National Blue Ribbon School Program bestowed the award to schools that demonstrated academic excellence. Mount Michal also marks the third time receiving the award, previously in 2012 and 2019.
“The Blue Ribbon School Program highlights schools that serve as models of innovation and effectiveness nationwide,” the Mount Michael press release noted. The school has been abuzz lately with the news, and Head of School Dr. David Peters said that receiving the award is “reaffirming” for the school’s culture.
“With multiple awards, it means we are high-achieving, also consistent—just as rigorous as when alumni attended,” Peters said. “It’s one thing to compare us [to other schools] within the state, but it’s really nice to compare nationwide.”
Peters described the application process as “elaborate.” After applying independently in 2012 and 2019, Mount Michael was invited to apply again for 2025. The process began behind the scenes a year ago in collaboration with the Council for American Private Education and involved an extensive written application that included school facts and demographics, curriculum content, and more. Also included were five years of ACT score averages, as one of the application criteria is having one hundred percent of students taking a standardized test and ranking at or above the eighty-fifth percentile. The heads of each department within the school also had to summarize their department’s programs in 250 words or less. Peters said that this part of the application was particularly difficult, as it was necessary to “think about what you have to leave out” when faced with the word-count limit.
He noted that the application process itself was the culmination of the effort of the entire Mount Michael community. “It’s not me, it’s the teachers and the students.”
Mrs. Amanda Schleimer, Director of Mission and Ministry, assisted with gathering and compiling information for the application, among other tasks. She noted that it was difficult to combine the outlines of different departments to sound “cohesive.” The easiest part of the process, she added, was going over the statistics, because it was fairly clear from the data that Mount Michael met the relevant criteria for the award. It is especially important to learn about the school’s history, she said, as it shapes the school’s identity, and that it is vital for the school to focus on its mission because that “is the foundation of everything we do.” Schleimer also expressed the importance of not only the process but those involved, stating that, while it may seem like a lot of rather dull information on paper, “there is a relationship” behind every step.
Clearly, this is a major accomplishment for Mount Michael that deserves due recognition. Being named a National Blue Ribbon School is an honor that signals recognition of the school’s strong tradition of eminence. This honor will, without a doubt, be meaningful to everyone who is a part of the Mount Michael community and push us to be even better for years to come.
