ISD 317 Deer River 101 1st Ave. NE Deer River, MN 56636 Phone: 218.246.2420 Fax: 218.246.8948
Deer River High School 101 1st Avenue NE Deer River, MN 56636 Phone: 218.246.2420 Fax: 218.246.8717
King Elementary School 500 5th Street S.E. Deer River, MN 56636 Phone: 218.246.8860 Fax: 218.246.8897
King Elementary recognized by business leaders for closing the achievement gap
Written by Matt Grose
Friday, 11 September 2009 21:15
Deer River school is one of two public elementary schools to receive the 2009 Minnesota's Future Award from the Minnesota Business Partnership
Deer River, September 9, 2009 - The Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP) today presented King Elementary Principal Amy Galatz with a $10,000 check to recognize the Deer River school's success in raising overall student performance and closing the achievement gap between white, minority and low-income students.
John Stanoch, Minnesota president of Qwest and chair of the Partnership's Education Policy Committee, presented the Minnesota's Future Award check to Galatz at a school assembly. "We call this the Minnesota's Future Award, because, as everyone knows, today's students are Minnesota's future," Stanoch told the students and staff. "For Minnesota to compete and create jobs, we need to recognize, encourage and learn from schools like King Elementary that are raising the bar for all students and closing the achievement gap. Through your dedication and hard work, Principal Galatz, you, your staff and students are making Minnesota's future brighter."
The Partnership, composed of more than 100 chief executives of Minnesota's largest employers, presents the Minnesota's Future Award each year to two public elementary schools, one in the Twin Cities and one in greater Minnesota, that 1} serve a high percentage of lowincome and/or minority students and 2} are closing the achievement gap based on MCA-II reading and math scores.
Overall, King Elementary students posted reading and math scores that were on par with or above the statewide average over the past three years.
Native American and low-income students at King demonstrated substantial improvement over the past three years.
In 2009, low-income students at King outperformed low-income students statewide by 13 percentage points in reading and 26 percentage points in math - and were on par with the overall statewide average in math and approaching the statewide average in reading.
Similarly, Native American students at King outpace Native American students statewide by 18 percentage points in reading and 29 points in math - and were on par with the overall statewide average.
"This is an exciting day for King Elementary and the community of Deer River and I appreciate the Minnesota Business Partnership's commitment to recognizing schools that are making a difference," said Matt Grose, superintendent, Deer River Public Schools. "The teachers at King Elementary work tirelessly during the school year and during the summer to improve their ability to teach and reach individual students. I am also excited for the opportunity to recognize students for their hard work in the classroom."
King Elementary and a metro-area elementary school, yet to be announced, will be honored before nearly 800 business, community and political leaders at the Partnership's Annual Dinner on October 13. Previous recipients of the Minnesota's Future Awards include:
2008: J.W. Smith Elementary, Bemidji, and Ames Elementary, St. Paul.
2007: Kelliher Elementary, Kelliher, and Farnsworth Aerospace Elementary, St. Paul.
2006: Nettleton Magnet School, Duluth, and Sheridan Elementary School, St. Paul.
The Minnesota's Future Award includes a $10,000 cash grant and two new computers, courtesy of Ceridian Corp., Red Wing Shoe Company, Qwest and IBM.
About the Minnesota Business Partnership
The Minnesota Business Partnership is composed of more than 100 chief executives of Minnesota's largest employers. Together, MBP members employ more than 1.8 million people worldwide, including 400,000 in Minnesota. Individually, MBP members contribute millions of dollars each year to Minnesota schools and education-related nonprofit organizations. In addition, members support a number of programs, such as the Minnesota's Future Awards, through the Minnesota Business Partnership Education Foundation, a nonprofit 501 (c) 3.
