In order to encourage excellence in education, the United States Department of Education awards the "National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence" Award to outstanding elementary, middle, and high schools around the country.
The United States Department of Education has recognized Prince of Peace Catholic School in Plano as a "National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence" twice, once in 2006 and again in 2016.
To put this achievement in perspective, only 30-50 private or parochial schools are typically chosen for recognition each year. There are approximately 35,000 private and parochial schools nationally. To win the award once is a great honor. To win it twice is rare.
To be considered, a school must be nominated by the commissioner of education. Nominated campuses are selected through analysis of student assessment and student demographic data. Schools are recognized as “Exemplary High Performing” if their average student achievement in English and Mathematics in each grade level is among the highest in the country (top 15% or higher) measured by a state or nationally normed test. Students at Prince of Peace met this standard on the basis of their performance on the IOWA Assessment Achievement Test.