Two Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago were among 57 schools across the United States to be honored as part of the inaugural National Gold Star School Award program.
The awards were announced May 10.
St. Benedict Preparatory School, 3900 N. Leavitt St., and St. Giles School in Oak Park were both honored for their established cultures, empowered people and optimal systems. The award is given by the National Association of Elementary School Principals.
“This recognition further underlines what we in the archdiocese already know: Strong leaders make strong schools,” said Greg Richmond, superintendent of schools for the archdiocese. “Catholic schools offer families an engaging, academically rigorous and community-oriented education for their children. St. Benedict and St. Giles represent some of the best of what Catholic schools offer, and we congratulate their leaders, educators, staff, volunteers and, of course, students, on this wonderful recognition.”
The award comes after the U.S. Department of Education discontinued its National Blue Ribbon Schools program, which recognized high-achieving schools for more than 40 years.
St. Giles was among 10 Catholic schools in the archdiocese that were notified that they had met the criteria for Blue Ribbon recognition in 2025, but the Department of Education discontinued the awards before distributing them to recipients that year. For St. Giles, it was the third Blue Ribbon.
The schools celebrated anyway, and the state of Illinois honored the schools who had earned the recognition with the Illinois Governor’s Blue Ribbon Award.
St. Giles Principal Meg Bigane said that in some ways, the Gold Star Schools award is a better fit for Catholic schools. While winners must demonstrate high academic achievement, the award is looking for more than that, she said.
“Especially for us in Catholic schools, we really do focus on community,” Bigane said. “Our Catholic schools are values based. We are not just academically based; it’s about the whole child, and that means the family as well. … It really us looking at the whole picture, not just one thing. Out of all that is where you’re going to get the successes both academically and socially and emotionally.”
Rachel Gemo, head of school at St. Benedict, said she ran across a notification about the new Gold Star Schools award late last year, and thought it was something that would fit her school’s culture.
“The whole scope of what the award is trying to recognize sounds like our school,” Gemo said. “It was more than just the academics. It was the whole thing: positive school culture, optimal systems, empowered people. … When I read it, I said, ‘That really sounds like us.’”
Both school leaders said they were especially gratified to be honored among a group that is made up of nearly all public elementary and middle schools.
“One of the things I think Catholic schools do so well is the welcoming of all, the inclusivity, developing not only highly intelligent kids, but, through our faith, kids that have that grit and perseverance, and just being welcoming and inclusive to others,” Gemo said. “I feel like sometimes they don’t take Catholic education seriously. I was not afraid to talk about the things we are doing because of our faith.”
Bigane said that it’s important for Catholic schools to apply for recognition such as the Gold Star Schools Award so that people who are not familiar with the work they do learn about them.
“You don’t want to brag in a way that puts other people down, but you want to showcase what your schools do,” she said. “If we don’t toot our own horns, no one else will, so that’s one of the things we have to do. This is who we are, this is what we’re doing, and I do think it benefits everyone.”
“It shows the relevance of Catholic education to our city, our state, our country,” Gemo said. “What we do is excellent and can be recognized by non-Catholic organizations. It shows our relevance in the greater community.”