Dear Parents,
After celebrating with our students this morning, we are thrilled to share the news with you: St. John Bosco Catholic School has been recognized as a 2025 National Blue Ribbon School—the first time in our history and the only private-school honoree from Arizona this year. This distinction reflects the daily dedication of our students, faculty, and staff, and the steadfast partnership of our parents.
Why is this recognition is such a big deal? The National Blue Ribbon Schools (NBRS) Program honors schools for exceptional achievement. For non-public schools, eligibility requires that student performance in the most recent tested year places the school in the top 15% nationally in reading/English language arts, and mathematics on a nationally normed assessment.
A rigorous, multi-step process.
Nomination: Private schools are screened nationally by the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). CAPE may nominate up to 50 non-public schools each year, as part of a total national cap of up to 420 public and non-public nominees. St. John Bosco appears as Arizona’s sole private-school nominee on CAPE’s 2025 list. Council for American Private Education
Comprehensive application: After nomination, schools submit a detailed application covering: Eligibility certification; Demographic data; School overview; Curriculum & instruction; School culture & climate; Strategy for academic success; and Non-public school information. Applications are reviewed for completeness, quality, and accuracy, with strict timelines and no post-submission edits.
Selectivity: In a typical year, only a few hundred schools nationwide receive this honor (for example, 356 schools in 2024).
This recognition is especially meaningful for our community—it is St. John Bosco’s first ever Blue Ribbon—and it comes in the program’s final year, as the U.S. Department of Education has announced the discontinuation of NBRS going forward. Council for American Private Education
We are profoundly grateful to our teachers and staff for their unwavering excellence; to our students for their hard work and joy; and to you—our parents—for your partnership and trust. Together, we live our mission of forming faith-filled leaders with strong minds and generous hearts.
We will share photos and highlights from today’s celebration on our school social media platforms soon.
With joy and gratitude,
Jamie Bescak
Principal