What is a Blue Ribbon School?  

 

Our Lady of Mercy School is a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and was awarded this prestigious distinction in 2010. In a nutshell, our Blue Ribbon School designation means that we are in the top 10% of schools nationwide, based on overall standardized test scores. Click here for more information. [http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/about.html]

 

 

Why a Star Rated License? 

North Carolina’s earliest licensing system didn't offer enough information to parents about the quality of care their program was providing so North Carolina moved to the star rated license system. For example, under the previous system, a center that received an A license was meeting only minimum requirements but parents may have thought this was the highest rating. To minimize confusion and to maximize understanding, a five star licensing system was developed because this type of rating system is typical for many products and services.

An additional benefit of the star rated license system is that it recognized providers for the higher quality care that they provide. Lastly, the star rated license acts as a roadmap for providers to follow as they strive to improve the quality of their care.

How are the Stars Determined?

The two components of the star rated license have a range of one to seven points. Listed below is the breakdown for the number of stars received based on the total points earned .

Number of Stars Received	Total Points Earned on a Two Component License
	1 - 3 Points
	4 - 6 Points
	7 - 9 Points
	10 - 12 Points
	13 - 15 Points

 

For more information, visit the NC Child Development & Early Education Website