[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 124 (Thursday, September 28, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S10452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       WHITE LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that 
today I publicly honor and congratulate White Lake School District on 
achieving blue ribbon status under the Federal No Child Left Behind 
Act. The prestigious blue ribbon designation is based on strong test 
scores and a myriad of other successes.
  The White Lake School District is among only 250 entities to be 
recognized nationwide so far this year. For public schools like White 
Lake to qualify for blue ribbon status, they must meet State testing 
levels or have a student body comprised of a high percentage of 
economically disadvantaged students, yet demonstrate improvement. 
Achieving this goal is a wonderful accomplishment, and White Lake 
schools ought to be applauded.
  This is not the first time White Lake schools have been honored. In 
both the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years, the district was named a 
Distinguished District, due to high scores on the DakotaSTEP 
achievement test. The U.S. Department of Education has also named White 
Lake as a Title I Distinguished School. In order to apply to be a blue 
ribbon school, the White Lake School District submitted a 27-page 
application outlining their strategies and techniques for learning 
success.
  Mr. President, I am proud to have this opportunity to honor White 
Lake School District. It is a privilege for me to share with my 
colleagues the exemplary leadership and tireless commitment to 
education that White Lake School District provides to its students. I 
strongly commend the hard work and dedication that the faculty, 
administrators, and staff devote to White Lake schools, and I am very 
pleased that their hard work and the students' substantial efforts are 
being publicly honored and celebrated. On behalf of all South Dakotans, 
I would like to congratulate this extraordinary school system and wish 
them continued success.

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