[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4265-4266]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     EVELETH-GILBERT PUBLIC SCHOOLS, ELEVETH AND GILBERT, MINNESOTA

 Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the Eveleth-
Gilbert Public Schools, in Eveleth, MN, and Gilbert, MN, which recently 
earned an Award for Excellence in Education for exceptional and 
innovative achievements in educating children.
  The Eveleth-Gilbert Public School District is truly a model of 
educational success. About 10 years ago, the district initiated an 
accelerated reader program to teach literacy skills and an appreciation 
for reading at all grade levels. Originally, this unique reading 
program was established for the District's 10th-grade students and is 
now used in grades 2 through 12.
  The accelerated reader program takes a fun and exciting approach to 
promoting reading, both at school and at home. The students read books 
and take a 10-question, computer-assisted assessment to score their 
comprehension, earning accelerated reader points for every assessment 
they pass. The students love to track their own progress, and teachers 
often involve the class in setting goals for accruing accelerated 
reader points. Students receive instant feedback and gain increased 
motivation to read more books. As students test themselves on more 
books, the accelerated reader system enables close monitoring of 
general levels or reading performance and other diagnostic information.
  The success of the accelerated reader program is reflected in the 
students' scores on the reading portion of the Minnesota Comprehensive 
Assessment tests. Over the past 2 years, Franklin Elementary and Nelle 
Shean Elementary, the district's two elementary schools, and Eveleth-
Gilbert Senior High School, earned four- and five-star status from the 
Minnesota Department of Education for their test scores in reading.
  Much of the credit for the success of the Eveleth-Gilbert Public 
Schools belongs to the superintendent, Mike Lang; the building 
principals, Deborah Hildie, Jan Mesich, and Lyn Bol; and all the 
district's dedicated teachers. The students and staff at the Eveleth-
Gilbert Public Schools understand that, in order to be successful, a 
district must go beyond achieving academic success; it must also 
provide a nurturing environment where students

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can develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for success throughout 
life. All of the faculty, staff, and students at Eveleth-Gilbert Public 
Schools should be very proud of their accomplishments.
  I congratulate the Eveleth-Gilbert Public Schools in Eveleth and 
Gilbert for winning the Award for Excellence in Education and for 
exceptional contributions to education in Minnesota.

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