Greenwich’s New Lebanon School Named 2026 CT Blue Ribbon School

Governor Ned Lamont and CT Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker on Thursday announced that Greenwich’s New Lebanon School is one of six in the state selected by the Connecticut State Dept of Education as 2026 Blue Ribbon Schools in recognition of demonstrating high levels of academic excellence, creating inclusive and supportive learning environments, and advance strong outcomes for all students.

New Lebanon School, built new in 2019, currently enrolls 363 students.

“Congratulations to these Connecticut schools on being selected for this honor and earning this well-deserved recognition,” Governor Lamont said. “The success of these schools is an example of why Connecticut’s public schools continue to rank among the best in the nation and why we must continue supporting the educators and school communities working on behalf of our students every day.”

“The Connecticut State Department of Education congratulates the six schools recognized as 2025-26 Connecticut Blue Ribbon Schools,” Commissioner Russell-Tucker said. “This distinction reflects what is possible when educators, students, families, and communities come together to create supportive learning environments, showcase innovative practices that support student success, and demonstrate a strong commitment to unlocking lifelong potential for all students. Congratulations to this year’s award winners for their hard work, dedication, and continued commitment to excellence.”

The Connecticut Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a state-operated initiative that replaces the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, which was discontinued by the U.S. Department of Education in 2025 after honoring schools on a nationwide basis during the previous four decades. In response to the termination of the national program, Governor Lamont and Commissioner Russell-Tucker launched this state-operated program last year, stressing the importance of recognizing and highlighting schools that are excelling in academic success.

The honorees were identified by CSDE using 2024-25 results from the Next Generation Accountability System. All selected schools were designated as Schools of Distinction. There are two categories of schools for this award—Exemplary High Performing and Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing. Five of the six schools were recognized in both categories.

New Lebanon School (Greenwich) – Exemplary High Performing and Achievement Gap Closing

New Lebanon School is one of 11 elementary schools in Greenwich enrolling 363 students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5. Nearly 60% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. New Lebanon’s overall accountability index earned in 2024-25 was 89.3, above the state target of 85 and their highest to date. The school’s performance has been improving steadily in recent years. They earned School of Distinction status for the first time in 2021-22 and repeated their performance in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Academic achievement and academic growth were particularly strong for New Lebanon School in 2024-25. In terms of academic achievement, the school earned its highest subject performance index scores since 2014-15 in all subjects for all students and students with high needs. Academic growth in mathematics also was the highest to date for all students and students with high needs. On average, students were achieving at least 86% of their growth targets in mathematics.

The accountability system includes a measure of growth toward English language proficiency for English/multilingual learners. About 12% of students at New Lebanon School are English/multilingual learners. Their growth on oral and literacy measures are among the top 2% of schools statewide. Students are on average achieving 84.2% of their oral targets and 96.5% of their literacy targets. These values are also the highest reported to date for this school.

When asked about the school’s success, the district administration noted the principal’s strong instructional leadership coupled with the staff’s intense focus on providing students with highly focused support during the school day while offering extensive arts programming. Everyone in the building feels a great sense of pride in what they do and the students are excited to go to school.

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