Parents and children gather at Avona Elementary School in Wilson Borough for the first day of the 2013-14 school year. Pennsylvania officials in September 2025 named Avona one of 13 state Blue Ribbon Schools, under a new initiative that replaces a federal recognition program cut the prior month. Tim Wynkoop File Photo | For lehighvalleylive.comThe Wilson Area School District’s Avona Elementary is among 13 schools selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education as the first Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon Schools, a new state program created after the Trump Administration ended the federal National Blue Ribbon Schools program in August. The 13 Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon Schools include elementary, intermediate, middle, and high schools spanning 11 counties. Wilson Area schools Superintendent Harrison Bailey III announced the district would celebrate the Blue Ribbon recognition with the community on Tuesday, Oct. 28.