FAE celebrates Nat'l Title I award

By: 
Jamie Hult, Staff writer
Fred Assam Elementary students join Brandon Valley High School cheerleaders in getting fired up at the school's special program Dec. 7 celebrating the National Title I Distinguished School award. Jamie Hult/BV Journal
Fred Assam Elementary is one of two schools in South Dakota selected for the National Title I Distinguished School award. Students, staff and parents celebrated with special guest Dr. Melody Schopp, S.D. Secretary of Education, last week. Jamie Hult/BV Journal
Fred Assam Elementary celebrated a national award Wednesday in true Lynx style, with plenty of red, black and white fanfare led by the Brandon Valley High School drumline, cheerleaders and choir.
S.D. Secretary of Education Dr. Melody Schopp presented FAE with the National Title I Distinguished School award at the Dec. 7 program.
“This is a really big deal because you are one of only two schools in the state to get this recognition,” Schopp said. “You did the very best in making improvements across the state in certain areas.”
The celebration began with four students bringing out an American flag and concluded with another quartet of students proudly displaying FAE’s new National Title I Distinguished School banner, which Schopp and her staff hand-delivered from S.D. Dept. of Education offices in Pierre.
 “What I am is overflowing with pride right now,” said Supt. Dr. Jarod Larson following a video featuring FAE students and staff entitled “What I Am.”
 “We need to say ‘thank you’ and demonstrate how unbelievable the staff at Fred Assam Elementary is, and that goes from the people you deliver you in the morning on the school bus to the people that feed you in the lunch line to classroom teachers who provide you with instruction to Principal Foster,” Larson said.
The Dept. of Education selected FAE based on students’ 2016 achievement test scores, which showed significant improvement among English Language Acquisition (ELA) students. Wall Elementary in Wall was also selected.
Schopp told students she’d be posting photos from the program on social media.
“Everyone in the U.S. is going to know today what a great job you did,” she said.
FAE students were treated to a magic show following the program. 

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