According the Baltimore Sun, six public schools, including four in the Baltimore area, were named Wednesday as Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools.

The Maryland State Department of Education awarded the designation to Lake Shore Elementary School and Severna Park Elementary in Anne Arundel County, Pine Grove Elementary in Baltimore County and Fountain Green Elementary in Harford County.

The schools were recognized for academic excellence and, in some cases, for helping students from economically disadvantaged families succeed.

Those schools, along with Kemptown Elementary in Frederick County and Smithsburg High School in Washington County, will now apply for the National Blue Ribbon School designation, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education

For more information, see the full story from the Baltimore Sun.