By Deb Risden
El Paso County Colorado School District 49 Remington Elementary School (Sand Creek Zone) and the Colorado Department of Education hosted an award ceremony Jan. 16 to recognize RES as a National ESEA Distinguished School. ESEA, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, was introduced by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 in an effort to close the gap in reading, writing and math between low-income and middle-class children.
RES is one of two schools in Colorado that received the award.
According to the CDE, schools are selected based on a combination of academic achievement of the students in the school and the creative and innovative programs that contribute to their success. Awarded schools are selected and recognized by each state’s Department of Education.
The CDE named RES a top performer of the ESEA program in Category 3, which recognizes excellence in serving special populations of students (e.g., homeless, migrant, English learners, etc.). This is the first time a D 49 school has received this honor in the nearly 20-year history of the program.
Peter Hilts, D 49 superintendent, said, “The CDE looked at Remington’s support for military connected children; they looked at their support for students in whose home a language other than English is spoken; they looked at their support for special populations and looked at their overall achievement and growth scores.” He said Remington is a high-performing Title I school. “It serves a population of students who have some life obstacles and may not have as many resources in the home. Remington has been relentless in their commitment to all students. To be among that very, very small number of schools nationally is a tremendous achievement.”
