Nathan Bohrer-Abraham Kaufman Hebrew Academy of Morris County in Randolph was chosen as a 2006 Blue Ribbon School under the national No Child Left Behind program.

It is just the third Jewish day school in New Jersey to garner the honor since the program began in 1982; it joins fewer than a dozen Jewish schools nationwide to have received the award, which recognizes public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. (Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey in River Edge won the award in 2004; Hebrew Academy of Atlantic City in Margate won in 1990.)

A total of 250 awards were announced by the United States Department of Education on Sept. 22.

“It’s unbelievable. We are so happy,” said head of school Moshe Vaknin. “It’s nice to be recognized nationally.” He added, “We are a Jewish day school but we also offer excellent general studies. It’s derech eretz [values] and Torah,” he said, describing the school’s dual curriculum.

Signs around the school will be changed to reflect its new status as a blue ribbon school, said Vaknin.

Winning schools must have either 40 percent of their students coming from disadvantaged families and have dramatically improved state test scores or be in the top 10 percent on state assessment tests regardless of students’ backgrounds. The Chief State School Officers nominate public schools by state, while the Council for American Private Education nominates private schools.

When Vaknin was tapped last fall to take the helm of Hebrew Academy, he told NJ Jewish News that becoming a blue ribbon school was one of his goals.

He and teacher Sarah Ludwig will attend a ceremony in Washington in November for winning schools; they will also plan a celebration at the school around Hanukka time.

“This will show the community that we are a school with extra high standards for academic excellence,” said board president Arlyn Rayfield.