The 2022 list of National Blue Ribbon scholastic institutions — a U.S. Secretary of Education honor given to public and private elementary, middle, and high schools for overall academic excellence — contains two Montgomery County honorees.

The full roster of nationwide honorees numbered 297 this year, the 20th anniversary of the program; 10 of them are in Pa.

The distinction considers a school’s overall academic performance and its success in overcoming achievement gaps — the disparity in academic performance between groups of students in differing ethnic or socioeconomic categories.

The two Montgomery County schools awarded blue ribbons are Mother Teresa Regional Catholic School, King of Prussia, and Corpus Christi School, Lansdale. Both operate within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

“I applaud all the honorees for the 2022 National Blue Ribbon Schools Award for creating vibrant, welcoming, and affirming school communities where students can learn, grow, reach their potential, and achieve their dreams,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

Cardona was especially congratulatory of the winning schools’ navigation of pandemic challenges.

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

The nationwide list of schools achieving this distinction is online.