U.S. Department of Education Recognizes Dallas Catholic School
St. Thomas Aquinas Named 2012 National Blue Ribbon School
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has recognized St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School, Dallas, Texas as one of only 50 private schools in the country named as 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools based on their overall academic excellence or for making progress in improving student academic achievement levels. The Department selected 219 public and 50 private schools nationwide, and will honor those schools at a recognition ceremony on Nov. 12-13 in Washington, D.C. The National Blue Ribbon Schools award honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students’ levels of achievement.
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School was recognized in the “Exemplary High Performing” category which means it is a school recognized among the state’s highest performing schools, as measured by state assessments or nationally-normed tests. St. Thomas has an enrollment of nearly 900 students in grades K-8 on two campuses. The Upper School campus is located 3741 Abrams Road with the Lower School Campus at 6255 East Mockingbird Lane.
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School opened in 1947 and has served the East Dallas area for 65 years. It has retained its position as the largest Catholic K-8 in the state of Texas since 2009. Principal Patrick J. Magee, M.Ed, currently in his 8th year at St. Thomas, has overseen growth to two school campuses, enrollment increases of 19% and consistent high performance in student standardized testing scores. During the past 5 years, the school has embraced the cultivation of technology in every classroom through SmartBoardTM use and this year’s launch of a 1:1 learning environment supported by iPad use for middle school students. St. Thomas Aquinas is accredited by the Texas Catholic Conference Education Department, and is one of 38 Catholic schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas. St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School was also recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in 1996.
The 2012 National Blue Ribbon designation was announced at a pep rally in the Upper School gym at 3741 Abrams Road on Friday, September 7th at 2:00 pm.
Visit http://www.ed.gov/nationalblueribbonschools for a complete list of the 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools.