[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16544-16545]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    CONGRATULATING OAK TRACE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, A BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN W. BROOKS

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 26, 2015

  Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate an 
outstanding school in my district that is being honored as a 2015 
National Blue Ribbon School. It is a pleasure to congratulate Oak Trace 
Elementary School in Westfield, Indiana in celebration of this special 
occasion.
  The National Blue Ribbon designation, given by the United States 
Department of Education, is awarded to both public and private schools 
across our great nation. Started by President Reagan and given annually 
since 1982, the award celebrates great American schools that achieve 
very high learning standards or are making significant improvements in 
the academic achievements of their students. In my district and across 
the country, the award recognizes the great educators, students, and 
parents who have worked so hard to ensure Indiana's children reach 
their full potential and achieve academic success.
  For all of these reasons and many more, I am so proud that Oak Trace 
Elementary School is receiving this prestigious designation. It is a 
wonderful acknowledgement of the school's commitment to providing young 
Hoosiers an exceptional education. While hundreds of schools nationwide 
were nominated, only 335 schools were designated as 2015 National Blue 
Ribbon Schools, making this recognition all the more impressive.
  Serving developmental preschool children through fourth grade, Oak 
Trace Elementary School provides its students with a safe and exciting 
learning environment. Oak Trace is a C.L.A.S.S. (Connecting Learning 
Assures Successful Students) school that implements a non-cognitive 
curriculum focused on doing the right thing and treating people right. 
They offer a unique learning atmosphere that focuses on building life 
skills, measures performance by individual student growth, and offers 
plenty of opportunities to give back to the community. Through 
differentiated instruction, students achieve well above the national 
average and consistently place in the top 5 percent of all students in 
Indiana. I applaud its administrators and teachers for their focus on 
individual growth and commitment to ensuring its students engage with 
the Hoosier community.
  As an advocate for education and youth, I also want to acknowledge 
how important it is to our nation's future to encourage and raise a new 
generation of Americans who have the skills and knowledge to succeed 
both in and out of the classroom. Students like those at Oak Trace 
Elementary School give me hope that we will accomplish this vital 
mission. Their outstanding work is an inspiration to students, 
educators, and parents across the nation. Once again, congratulations 
to Oak Trace Elementary School. I am very proud of you.

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