Illinois Honors 28 Schools with Inaugural Governor’s Blue Ribbon Awards
Springfield, IL – The state of Illinois recognized 28 schools – 15 public and 13 private – for academic excellence at an event held at the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield on Wednesday evening. The awards were presented as part of the newly established Illinois Governor’s Blue Ribbon School Award program.
Governor JB Pritzker created the statewide program in October 2025, shortly after the Trump administration abolished the national Blue Ribbon Schools program . The Illinois program aims to continue recognizing schools demonstrating high academic achievement.
The 28 schools selected as inaugural recipients had previously been identified by the U.S. Department of Education for the national award before the program’s closure in August 2025.
“Twenty-eight outstanding schools are represented here tonight, recognized for the prestigious distinction that’s based upon the rigorous criteria, the same ones that were used by the Department of Education, so you have met and exceeded those really high standards,” Governor Pritzker said during the ceremony.
The Trump administration stated that the closure of the national program was part of broader downsizing efforts within the Department of Education, intended to return greater control of education policy to individual states . The National Blue Ribbon Schools program had honored thousands of public and private schools for academic achievement since its inception in 1982, with 18 Illinois schools receiving the award in 2024.
“I believe that this level of educational excellence really should be celebrated at every opportunity,” Pritzker added. “We should be constantly uplifting our students and our teachers, our administrators and the school’s achievements and successes.”
The Illinois State Board of Education will oversee the application and awards process for the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Schools program in future years.
2026 Illinois Governor’s Blue Ribbon School Award Recipients
Public Schools:
- Sunset Ridge Elementary School, Northfield, Sunset Ridge School District 29
- William Fremd High School, Palatine, Township High School District 211
- Highlands Elementary School, La Grange, LaGrange Highlands School District 106
- Pleasantdale Middle School, Burr Ridge, Pleasantdale School District 107
- Lyons Township High School, La Grange, Lyons Township High School District 204
- Glen Oaks Elementary School, Hickory Hills, North Palos School District 117
- Warren Elementary School, Warren, Community Unit School District 205
- Prescott Elementary School, Chicago, Chicago Public School District 299
- Clarendon Hills Middle School, Clarendon Hills, Community Consolidated School District 181
- Walker Elementary School, Clarendon Hills, Community Consolidated School District 181
- Kennedy Junior High School, Lisle, Naperville Community Unit School District 203
- Liberty Intermediate School, Libertyville, Community High School District 128
- Sarah Adams Elementary School, Lake Zurich, Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95
- Mascoutah Middle School, Mascoutah, Mascoutah School District 19
- Lincoln-Way East High School, Frankfort, Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210
Private Schools:
- Ascension Catholic School, Oak Park
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy, Chicago
- Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette
- St. Giles School, Oak Park
- St. Matthias School, Chicago
- St. Therese Chinese Catholic School, Chicago
- St. John of the Cross Parish School, Western Springs
- St. Norbert School, Northbrook
- St. Anne Catholic School, Barrington
- The Academy of Saint Joan of Arc, Evanston
- Timothy Christian (PreK – 8), Elmhurst
- Wheaton Academy, West Chicago
- Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, Lake Forest
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