Best of the best: 23 Maryland schools earn Blue Ribbon honors for lifting every learner

Some schools lift every child who walks through the door — and on October 20, Maryland named 23 of them. The state's Blue Ribbon Schools for 2026 are 12 public schools and 11 Catholic schools, chosen because their students score strongly on state and national tests and because they succeed at the hardest part of the job: narrowing the gaps between different groups of students. The public honorees span six counties and Baltimore City, from three schools in Montgomery County to one in Baltimore itself. Schools apply for the honor and are judged on the evidence. State superintendent Carey Wright called them “among the best of the best in our state” — a title these teachers, families and students earned the slow way, one school year at a time.

SDG 4 · Quality education