Earlier today, Sister Teresa Ballisty, I.H.M., Principal of Saints Philip and James Parish School in Exton (Chester County), was named as a recipient of the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership for 2023 by the United States Secretary of Education, Miguel A. Cardona. Sister Teresa is one of nine school leaders from the 2023 cohort of National Blue Ribbon Schools who will be honored with the award during the National Blue Ribbon Schools awards ceremony on Thursday, November 16, 2023. 

Named for the second United States Secretary of Education, Terrel H. Bell, the Bell Award honors school leaders who are committed to education as a powerful and liberating force in people’s lives. The award is part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Principals are nominated by their school communities during the final stages of the National Blue Ribbon Schools application process. 

The United States Department of Education, together with the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the Association for Middle Level Education, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, present the Bell Awards to principals of National Blue Ribbon Schools for their outstanding work and the vital role they play in guiding their students and schools to excellence, frequently under challenging circumstances. 

For the complete list of this year’s recipients of the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership, please visit.

On Tuesday, September 19, 2023 Saint Philip Neri Catholic School in Lafayette Hill (Montgomery County), Saint Mary Interparochial School in the Society Hill Section of Philadelphia, and Saints Philip and James School in Exton (Chester County), were selected as part of the 2023 cohort of National Blue Ribbon Schools in an announcement made by Miguel Cardona, Ed.D., Secretary of the United States Department of Education.

With the addition of the 2023 cohort, Blue Ribbon status has been awarded 51 times to parish and regional elementary schools in the five-county Archdiocese since the program’s inception in 1982. Saint Genevieve Catholic School in Flourtown (Montgomery County) has received this honor more times than any other school in the Archdiocese (2000, 2006, and 2016).

The United States Department of Education will hold a recognition ceremony for this year’s Blue Ribbon Schools on November 16 and 17, 2023 in Washington, D.C. Representatives from Saint Philip Neri, Saint Mary Interparochial, and Saints Philip and James will be formally recognized at that time.

Background Information on the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program

Founded in 1982, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students’ academic achievement.  Since the program’s founding, the United States Department of Education has bestowed this coveted award on more than 9,700 of America’s schools. For a complete list of 2023 National Blue Ribbon Schools, please visit https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/.

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Editor’s Note:

For information about Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please visit www.aopcatholicschools.org/.

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Meredith Wilson
Media and Events Specialist
215-587-3747