Br. Robert R. Bimonte, FSC, executive director and Br. William J. Campbell, S.M., associate executive director from the Department of Elementary Schools at the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) office in Washington pose with St. John Neumann principal Barbara Cole at the reception held in Washington D.C. for the Blue Ribbon award winners. Despite some reports saying otherwise, there were two schools in the Midlands selected as 2008 National Blue Ribbon schools.

The U.S. Department of Education honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools "that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement to high levels" with No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon recognition. The selected schools are honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. where they each receive a plaque and a flag signifying their status.

Richland District Two's Lake Carolina Elementary located on Kelly Mill Road was nominated and selected as a National Blue Ribbon school based on one of the two criterion set forth by the U.S. Department of Education. The school performed among the top 10 percent of South Carolina schools, and differences in student achievement between demographic subgroups also were reduced according to the S.C. Department of Education's website. Also according to the website, Lake Carolina was one of five nominated South Carolina public schools that "not only met the basic criteria, but also scored higher against those criteria than other South Carolina schools.

All nominees had to have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under NCLB for the 2005- 06 and 2006- 07 school years, and also had to make AYP for the 2007- 08 school year to be eligible for recognition."

The other school in the Midlands that was awarded National Blue Ribbon status was St. John Neumann Catholic School located off Polo Road. As a private school, its students, regardless of background, had to achieve in the top 10 percent of the nation on nationally- normed tests. According to St. John Neumann principal Barbara Cole, "The honor was earned as a result of the students' scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. St. John Neumann students ranked in the top 10% of the nation on this nationally- normed test."

The process of applying for the Blue Ribbon is different for private/ Catholic schools than it is for the nomination process used by S.C. public schools. St. John Neumann's Blue Ribbon application was completed and first sent to the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). CAPE then reviewed all applications and submitted only 50 to the U.S. Department of Education for consideration to receive the Blue Ribbon.

St. John Neumann Catholic School was one of 43 Catholic Schools to receive the National Blue Ribbon for 2008. This is the second time St. John Neumann Catholic School has received the Blue Ribbon. The school was first awarded in 1998- 99. It is one of two Catholic Schools in the state to have the Blue Ribbon status.