[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 10, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S8270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      CONGRATULATING LAURA SANDERS

 Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I congratulate Ms. Laura Sanders 
as Kentucky's 2008 No Child Left Behind American Star of Teaching. 
Initiated in 2004, the American Starts of Teaching is part of the U.S. 
Department of Education's Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative. By offering 
regional and district workshops, roundtables for teachers and 
principals, and digital learning, the Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative 
allows some of our nation's best teachers to share strategies to raise 
student achievement and inform teachers of successful research-based 
practices. Each year, over one million, students are taught by a 
teacher who participated in the Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative.
  Ms. Sanders, a kindergarten teacher at Cumberland Trace Elementary 
School in Bowling Green, KY, has been recognized as one of Kentucky's 
top teachers. She developed teaching practices in her classroom along 
with research-based materials that have helped her students to 
consistently make clear improvements. Over the past 2 years, her 
students' reading scores have gone from the 50th percentile in the fall 
to over the 85th and 91st percentile the following spring. Ms. Sanders' 
ability to assess the individual needs of each student has enabled her 
to ensure that every child is working at an appropriate pace and level. 
Having already been a recipient of numerous awards for her contribution 
to education, her work is widely recognized.
  I am proud to recognize Ms. Sanders for her ability to effectively 
challenge students at Cumberland Trace Elementary School, while at the 
same time sharing her techniques with other teachers--making a 
difference in the lives of students. Her work is an inspiration to the 
citizens of Kentucky and to teachers everywhere. I look forward to 
seeing all that she will accomplish in the future.

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