Cathedral has been named a National Blue Ribbon School. Previous years that this accomplishment has been received includes 1988, 2004, 2016, and now, 2022.

This is a national recognition and a great honor to all involved with Cathedral. Schools that reach the requirements are able to apply every six years. Only 420 schools are awarded with this, and this year only 296 total schools were chosen, 24 of which were private schools. Of the total number of schools, only 50 are able to be private. Since this has been accomplished four times since the beginning of the award, Cathedral is in the top 0.01% of schools involved with the award. 

Co-STEM Director Dr. Aarti Brooks has put in countless hours and work to achieve this honor. Dr. Brooks said, “I am really proud to be a part of this school and teachers should be proud of themselves, kids should be proud of themselves, everyone should get that pat on the back for this.”

This directly affects the school in many ways. It will have a large impact on marketing, as it gives new ways to advertise the greatness of the school and those involved. Director of Marketing Mrs. Grace Trahan-Rodecap said, “It will have a huge marketing impact, everyone wants the best. When we can say we are the best, everyone wants to be a part of that. I’m excited (from a marketing standpoint), it’s a huge marketing tool. Word of mouth advertising is huge in what we do, there’s excitement within our community, educators, and family.”

Aside from Rodecap and Brooks, teachers and students also have a great contribution to this honor. Brooks hopes that teachers are able to realize their hard work and the success of their students is a large contributor to the award. Brooks said, “It’s really the whole school showing off every little piece of what makes Cathedral.”

The student body will be able to celebrate this honor as a whole. Administrators are working to plan a celebration to recognize this success and award. Those teachers involved will be attending the Blue Ribbon Ceremony in Washington D.C. on November 3 and 4. After this, the specifics of the celebration will be discussed.

This accomplishment shows the specifics of academics, athletics and other aspects, but also shows what the school was able to accomplish during Covid. Rodecap said, “It speaks volumes as to what we accomplished during Covid because a lot of the data that was gathered for this report was from our Covid years. It shows that even through the insurmountable obstacles we had during that time, we still delivered. Not only delivered, but delivered extremely well.”

This achievement affects all involved with Cathedral, and all should recognize the greatness that this brings to the school and beyond. Rodecap said, “I hope the students have a sense of pride in knowing that teachers truly transform hearts and minds to the level that they do. Some of the students that are now responsible for this award are now off at college doing great things there, I hope all students realize how blessed they are to be here on the Hill.”