Notre Dame Preparatory School earns National Blue Ribbon

For the second time in eight years and the third time since the program began in 1982, Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Sept. 24. It is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. Department of Education.

NDP, which also earned the distinction in 1984-85 and 2012-13, was the only school recognized in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and one of only two schools in the Baltimore metropolitan area. It was among 50 non-government schools included in the list of 367 honored in the nation.

According to a media release from NDP, the Blue Ribbon School award honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students achieve at high levels or where the achievement gap is narrowing.

Founded in 1873 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the all-girls school, encompassing grades 6-12, offers more than 190 college preparatory courses, including more than 24 Advanced Placement courses.

“For 147 years, Notre Dame Prep has, in the spirit of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, educated young women to transform the world,” said School Sister of Notre Dame Patricia McCarron, headmistress of the school. “This honor affirms the core mission tenets foundational to Notre Dame Prep, namely academic excellence, spiritual growth and the practice of justice.”

Among its signature academic programs are STEAM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Art/Math), the Bette Ellis O’Conor Humanities Program and extensive visual and performing arts offerings. In January 2020, the school opened the Jane Kroh Satterfield Innovation Wing, which houses a medical suite, cyber classrooms, art studios, a fabrication lab and architecture/design studio.

The National Blue Ribbon School award ceremony will be held virtually November 12-13 in Washington, D.C. Since 1982, more than 9,000 of America’s schools have received this coveted award.

The complete list of Blue Ribbon schools in the archdiocese follows, with this year’s winners in bold: