Two Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools have been named winners of the annual Blue Ribbon School awards from the U.S. Department of Education.

Piedmont IB Middle School and Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy are among the eight N.C. winners of the award, presented to schools that demonstrate success in closing achievement gaps between groups of students.

None of the other six N.C. winners or the three S.C. winners are from the Charlotte region.

Piedmont Middle, just north of uptown, is among CMS' oldest magnet schools. It launched an "open" academic program in 1973 and adopted the International Baccalaureate program several years ago.

Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy, a charter school based in southeast Mecklenburg, opened in 2000.

"This is a great moment in our school's history," said Piedmont Middle Principal Dee Gardner, who has taught at the school since 1988.

"Urban schools usually don't win this award, but we've been able to achieve success and diversity at the same time.

"This says a lot about the great staff we have and the history of success here."

Piedmont Middle met 100 percent of its goals in the No Child Left Behind program for 2010-11.

The most recent available figures show more than 45 percent of the school's nearly 1,000 students are at or below the federal poverty level.

Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy has about 215 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Its director, Marie Peine, has been at the school for 10 years.

The school is for academically gifted students and has been named an Honor School of Excellence in North Carolina's end-of-year testing program for eight straight years.