Kilby Laboratory Honored as National Blue Ribbon School
Feb. 12, 2026
Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – Kilby Laboratory School on the University of North Alabama campus has been recognized today as a 2025 National Blue Ribbon School by the Alabama State Department of Education as part of its monthly meeting that took place today in Montgomery.
“Kilby’s nomination speaks volumes about UNA’s rich legacy of excellence and unwavering commitment to preparing high-quality teachers,” said Dr. Katie Kinney, Dean of the Spencer College of Education and Human Sciences. “Our preservice teacher candidates have the invaluable opportunity to learn from master teachers every day and to carry those lessons forward into the classrooms and communities they will one day serve.”
Dean Kinney was on hand for the ceremony today with Kilby’s Director, Dr. Eric Kirkman.
“It has been an honor to work alongside our faculty and UNA’s educators in training as part of this distinct honor,” he said. “For Kilby to be recognized on this scale as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence confirms what we in the Kilby Family know to be true: we are providing the best education possible to our students to prepare them for future success. There is no higher honor.”
To receive this award, a school must be nominated by a state legislative official and based on high achievement and/or exceptional academic growth. Four other schools in Alabama were honored as part of the recognition ceremony.
Since its inception in 1982, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has recognized more than 9,000 Great American Schools. Traditionally, representatives of newly recognized schools gather for a ceremony in Washington, D.C., where their achievement is officially honored by the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Department of Education opted to forego this national recognition program before the naming of the selected schools for 2025. Alabama has chosen to honor the selected schools at the state level. This prestigious award galvanizes school communities and generates inspiring school success stories for the media. It also draws professional and public interest and offers recipients new opportunities to share their hard-won knowledge in districts, states, and beyond.
About The University of North Alabama
The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; the Spencer College of Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.