Congratulating Kit Carson Elementary School

CONGRATULATING KIT CARSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 22, 2004)

Mrs. MUSGRAVE. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to congratulate Kit Carson R-1 Elementary School in Kit Carson, Colorado for being chosen as a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School of 2004. The Blue Ribbon Schools program honors public and private K-12 schools that are academically superior in their states or have demonstrated dramatic gains in student achievement.

Schools chosen for the Blue Ribbon are meeting the mission of ensuring every child is learning and achieving. Blue Ribbon recipients are national models of excellence from which other schools can learn. I am proud of Kit Carson R-1 Elementary School for serving as a model in the great state of Colorado, and throughout the entire nation.

The Blue Ribbon Schools program requires schools to meet specific assessment criteria. It recognizes schools that have at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that dramatically improve student performance in accordance with state assessment systems. The program also rewards schools that score in the top 10 percent on state assessments.

Kit Carson's 37 students scored in the top 10 percent nationwide in math and reading. Additionally, Kit Carson Elementary is only one of 27 rural schools in the nation that received the Blue Ribbon title.

It is an honor to announce this award and it is a testament to the exceptional students of rural Colorado. It proves that a quality education is obtainable when teachers, parents, and students strive for achievement. Compared to other elementary schools around the nation, Kit Carson may be small in size, but it is prominent in its standing.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to offer my warmest congratulations to Kit Carson Elementary for this achievement.