(Washington, D.C.) - Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus announced today three Montana schools have earned top honors from the Department of Education as 2012 National Blue Ribbon Award winners.

The 2012 winners are:

·        Columbus High School

·        Lincoln School (Cascade)

·        Montana City School

"I applaud the hardworking teachers and students at Columbus High School, Lincoln School and Montana City School.  We're honored to have them recognized at the national level for their commitment to academic excellence," Baucus said. "Montana jobs rely on a strong education system and I'm pleased to see these schools leading the way toward a brighter future."

 At the invitation from U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, the principal and one teacher from each school will be invited to Washington, DC for the November 12^th and 13^th Recognition Ceremony. Representatives from each school will receive a National Blue Ribbon Schools plaque and a flag to signify its status.

Montana City School Principal Steve Connole said, "At Montana City School, we are focused on each individual child.  The National Blue Ribbon School award is a direct reflection of the hard work and dedication of the students, staff, and school community toward achieving our vision of "Educational Excellence-Above the Line By Design."

Additional Background Information:

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, honors public and private schools based on one of two criteria:

1) Schools whose students are high performing. These are schools ranked among each state's highest performing schools as measured by their performance on state assessments or, in the case of private schools, that score at the highest performance level on nationally-normed tests; or

2) Schools with at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that improve student performance to high levels as measured by the school's performance on state assessments or nationally-normed tests.