[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 5, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7843-S7844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING LEGACY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

 Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, I want to congratulate the 
students, faculty, and parents of Legacy Elementary School, located in 
West Fargo, ND, on being awarded the 2017 National Blue Ribbon School 
Award.
  Founded in 1982, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes 
public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students 
perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being 
made in students' academic achievement. A National Blue Ribbon Schools 
flag overhead has become a mark of excellence in education recognized 
by everyone from parents to policymakers in thousands of communities. 
Since the program's founding, the U.S. Department of Education has 
bestowed this coveted award to more than 8,500 of America's best 
schools.
  Legacy Elementary School serves nearly 540 students and was one of 
three schools in North Dakota to be designated as an Exemplary High 
Performing School under this award. Receiving recognition as a National 
Blue Ribbon School signifies the hard work and dedication of the 
educators, students, and parents involved, and I have no doubt the 
students at Legacy are on a path to success. The school has received 
the Let's Move Active Schools

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National Award and the Star Award from their local Dakota Medical 
Foundation. These awards show Legacy's dedication towards promoting 
health and wellness among students and staff. Such health strategies 
include building wide flexible seating and personalized learning 
spaces, movement built into their curriculum, along with multiple 
health snack and food options and initiatives, which work to build both 
short- and long-term healthy habits for students.
  As school leadership states, ``At Legacy, our school Mission is: 
Educate. Our school Vision is: Everyone Learns.'' It is through this 
dedication that Legacy helps students excel academically, physically, 
emotionally, socially, and culturally. The school does so by often 
writing their own curricula to ensure they teach what fits students' 
needs and implementing programs that grow skills such as critical 
thinking, perseverance, problem solving, and sportsmanship. The 
innovation shown by the faculty at Legacy serves as a model that all 
schools can look towards when finding new ways to promote student 
growth and development.
  The West Fargo Public Schools' mission statement reads, ``Educating 
today's learners for tomorrow's world.'' This mission embodies all that 
Legacy Elementary is working to accomplish by looking at the needs of 
each individual student, as well as providing a healthy and respectful 
learning environment that breeds success. I wish the very best to the 
community of West Fargo and congratulations to all engaged at Legacy 
Elementary for achieving this high honor. Thank you for your commitment 
to our children and leaders of tomorrow.

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