Newcomb K-8 Academy is the latest Long Beach school to be honored by the U.S. Department of Education as a National Blue Ribbon School.

The school in the El Dorado Park neighborhood was one of 297 nationwide to receive the award, the U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced Friday.

“Congratulations to everyone in the Newcomb community for earning such a high honor,” Newcomb Principal Chris Thompson said in an official release. “At Newcomb, we feel that we make a tremendous, positive difference for so many students, and it’s rewarding to see that feeling validated at the national level. Thank you to everyone who made this extraordinary recognition possible.”

The National Blue Ribbon is America’s top honor for individual schools. Past Long Beach Unified School District winners of this award include Cubberley K-8 School, Rogers and Hughes middle schools, the California Academy of Mathematics and Science, and Lowell, Twain, Prisk and Naples elementary schools.

“Blue Ribbon Schools have gone above and beyond to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional and mental health needs,” Cardona said in a press release. “These schools show what is possible to make an enduring, positive difference in students’ lives.”

According to the Education Department website, the Blue Ribbon recognizes schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Newcomb was specifically recognized in the category of Exemplary High-Performing Schools, which are among California’s highest performing schools as measured by normed tests.

Newcomb prepared a 22-page award application for this honor that detailed the demographics of its East Long Beach population. It also included descriptions of curriculum, professional development for staff, extra academic support, teacher longevity, gifted programs, special education approaches, English language learner instruction, arts and music programs, family and community engagement and more.

A National Blue Ribbon School flag will now fly on the Newcomb flagpole.