[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4722-4723]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            CHURCHILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, CLOQUET, MINNESOTA

 Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Churchill 
Elementary School, in Cloquet, MN, which recently earned an Award for 
Excellence in Education for its exceptional and innovative achievements 
in educating children.
  Churchill Elementary School is truly a model of educational success. 
The school has recognized the vital need to nurture children's love for 
reading. At the same time, the school has taken the initiative to find 
new, creative ways to improve children's reading academically. For ``I 
Love To Read Month'' in February, every classroom at Churchill 
Elementary established a goal for the amount of reading the students 
would collectively complete during the month. The children met every 
goal.
  At Churchill Elementary, many planned activities help motivate pupils 
to read. On Valentine's Day, the school hosted a ``Books for 
Breakfast.'' Families came to school to share a breakfast and reading 
time together. Earlier in the month, Churchill hosted a family reading 
night, for which families congregated in the media center to read books 
together.
  These and other activities emphasize the importance of reading for 
each child's life. This year, during one week of the month, different 
mystery readers, including the police chief, the superintendent, and 
the Cloquet mayor, were invited to read a story over the school 
intercom. All events culminated with a celebration on March 2nd, Dr. 
Seuss' birthday.
  The success of these initiatives is reflected in the reading test 
scores at Churchill Elementary. Last year, Churchill Elementary 
received four out of five possible stars from the Minnesota Department 
of Education for both reading and mathematics. Fewer

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 than 20 percent of all schools in the State have rated so well in 
reading and math.
  Much of the credit for Churchill Elementary School's success belongs 
to its principal, David Wangen, and the dedicated teachers. The 
students and staff at Churchill Elementary School understand that in 
order to be successful, a school must go beyond achieving academic 
success; it must also provide a nurturing environment where students 
can develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for success throughout 
life. All of the faculty, staff, and students at Churchill Elementary 
School should be very proud of their accomplishments.
  I congratulate Churchill Elementary School in Cloquet for winning the 
Award for Excellence in Education and for its exceptional contributions 
to education in Minnesota.

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