A Brief Look at Blue Ribbon Schools in Michigan

For more than 12 years, Dr. Christine Johns has functioned as superintendent of schools with Utica Community Schools in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Over the course of her tenure as superintendent, Dr. Christine Johns has established a graduation rate of 93.6 percent. Of the 36 schools under her guidance, 28 have been recognized as Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary Schools of Excellence.

The state of Michigan is home to 48 Blue Ribbon Exemplary Schools of Excellence, an honor that distinguishes a school as academically advanced in the eyes of the United States Department of Education. The student to teacher ratio at Michigan Blue Ribbon schools is 18:1, while 27 percent of the student body at these schools consists of minority enrollment. The state added 13 new Blue Ribbon schools at the end of 2017.

Blue Ribbon honors are open to both public and private schools from the elementary level through high school. In addition to the overall quality of academic offerings, important aspects of a Blue Ribbon institution include the school’s ability to address and correct achievement gaps between specific student subgroups. In total, more than 8,500 schools in America are part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.