CPS elementary school honored with national award

Prescott Elementary in Lincoln Park has been named a 2019 National Blue Ribbon School, a prestigious national honor from the U.S. Department of Education.

Prescott, which is a Chicago Public Schools neighborhood school, is one of only 16 public schools in Illinois and 312 public schools nationwide to be honored this year, according to a news release issued by CPS.

The school received the honor in the Exemplary High Performing Schools category for testing in the top 15% of all schools in Illinois, high achievements in key subgroups and completing a rigorous application process that evaluated everything from social and emotional learning supports to professional development and quality classroom instruction, according to the news release.

“An accomplishment like this does not happen by coincidence,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in the news release. “It is the culmination of years of hard work from the entire school community whose efforts have set high standards of academic excellence and prove that neighborhood schools are vital to creating lifelong learners.”