[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8624-S8625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING CONNECTICUT'S BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to six 
elementary schools from my home state of Connecticut whose achievements 
have earned them the honor of being named blue ribbon schools. The blue 
ribbon schools program was established in 1982 to honor the best 
elementary and secondary schools in the country. This program promotes 
excellence in education by providing national recognition to a diverse 
group of schools that display an uncommon ability to help their 
students to reach their potential.
  These blue ribbon schools, with their varied socioeconomic, 
geographic, and educational needs, prove that, with the right tools, 
all of our schools can be successful. They display the qualities of 
excellence that are necessary to prepare our young children for the 
challenges of the next century. Their formula for success is no secret. 
Each has strong leadership, a sense of mission, parental involvement, 
high quality teaching, and high standards and high expectations for 
each and every student.
  It is important that we make every child in this country believe in 
themselves, and blue ribbon schools are challenging our students to try 
harder and demand more from themselves.
  Of the 76,000 elementary schools across the country, only 263 are 
honored as blue ribbon schools, and I am proud of the fact that all six 
nominated schools from Connecticut were chosen to be honored. These six 
schools from Connecticut are Ellen B. Hubble Elementary School in 
Bristol, Highland Elementary School in Chesire, East Farms School in 
Farmington, the Center School in Litchfield, the Peck Place School in 
Litchfield, and West District School in Unionville. Each is different 
and unique, but they hold in common a commitment to helping all their 
students achieve high standards. I would like to briefly mention some 
of the unique accomplishments of each of these schools.
  Ellen P. Hubble School in Bristol is a center for innovation in 
education, where learning is fun. The school brings excitement to 
learning by developing building-wide themes. In the past, the school 
has been transformed into a farm, a forest, and a circus, and the 
children have responded by bringing uncommon enthusiasm to their 
schoolwork. The students of Ellen P. Hubble have also been very active 
in their community. Through the random acts of kindness and make a 
difference day program, students have worked on activities ranging from 
supporting a shelter for battered women to providing help for Bosnian 
refugees.
  Highland Elementary School is a reflection of the town of Cheshire's 
dedication to provide each young person with a nurturing, motivating, 
and enjoyable learning environment. Highland Elementary has formed a 
collaborative intervention team, composed of teachers and 
administrators, whose role is to identify and address the complex needs 
of each individual student. The teachers set high standards for their 
students, but the results have shown that great teaching inspires 
active learning. In addition, Highland is a member of the national 
network of Partnership 2000 schools, which fosters home-school 
partnerships.
  The East Farms School in Farmington is centered around the belief 
that all children are capable of becoming skillful, lifelong learners. 
The staff works within collaborative teams which develop an engaging 
inter-disciplinary curriculum. East Farms is the first school in 
Connecticut to establish their own publishing center. For 3 years, 
parents have assisted children and teachers in the publication of over 
1,000 original books each year. This effort has not only brought 
students, parents, and teachers together in a learning exercise, it has 
also reinforced the value and importance of written work.
  At the Center School in Litchfield, lessons are planned around 
student inquiry, and teachers serve as facilitators rather than 
lecturers. In addition, students at the Center School are taught that 
the best way to solve a problem is by cooperating with others, and 
students are instilled with a strong sense of community. The school has 
been at the forefront of instructional reform, and the school's 
thematically arranged, interdisciplinary units of instruction have been 
hailed as exemplary by local, state, and national educators. The Center 
School was the first elementary school in Connecticut to be accredited 
by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and they 
recently received the Connecticut Award for Excellence.
  Teachers are at the center of efforts to provide children with a 
quality education at the Peck Place School in Orange. This school has 
invested in highly-qualified staff with 92 percent of the staff holding 
advanced degrees. Beyond an excellent traditional elementary schools 
curriculum, Peck Place also offers both French and Spanish to its 
students. Students and parents are enthusiastic partners in this 
effort. The Peck Place School proves a strong learning environment 
leads to improved performance by students. Connecticut mastery test 
scores have shown significant improvement in every grade, and grade 
four scores have jumped from 25 percent meeting or exceeding the State 
goals in 1993 to 74 percent in 1995.
  West District School in Unionville is a true neighborhood school 
where nearly half of the students walk to school every day, and many of 
them are the children of former students. West District is committed to 
the belief that all students are capable of learning at a high level if 
you nurture each student's special strengths. West District has formed 
a school development council, made up of teachers, staff, and parents, 
to work on ways to improve the school and to develop priorities for 
each school year. Last year the school chose to focus its efforts on 
addressing the needs of low-performing students, and the school worked 
diligently to bridge the gap between their most successful students and 
those who struggle with their classwork. The results have been 
successful as the vast majority of students are now performing at the 
high levels. West District boasts some of the highest Connecticut 
Mastery scores in the State, with 84 percent of sixth graders and 80 
percent of fourth graders reaching the excellent level on the 
Connecticut mastery test in math. In addition, 80 percent of sixth 
graders achieved excellence in reading and 75 percent of fourth graders 
reached the excellence level in writing.
  Once again I would like to congratulate these six schools for being 
honored

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as blue ribbon schools. I believe that they all serve as models for 
other schools and communities seeking to provide young students with a 
nurturing environment that will enable each child to develop into a 
life-long learner.

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