LUBBOCK, Texas — On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education recognized 353 schools nationally, including one in Lubbock and one in Sundown.

Lubbock ISD’s Talkington School For Young Women Leaders and Sundown ISD’s Sundown Elementary School were on the list of 2023 National Blue Ribbon Schools (NBRS), according to a press release.

There were 29 Texas schools that also made the list. The education department allows up to 420 schools to be nominated each year.

According to the press release, “the recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups on assessments.”

Schools chosen are either among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests or in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students, the press release said.

The NBRS website indicated that each year, the Department honors these schools at an awards ceremony with a plaque and flag in Washington, D.C.