No. 1 in Title 1
<p>Atlas Elementary School second-grade teacher Judy Collins and other school staff members raise their glasses of sparkling cider during a celebration ceremony on Friday at Atlas Elementary School. Atlas Elementary is one of two Idaho schools named National Title 1 Distinguished Schools for "outstanding student performance." </p>
<p>Atlas Elementary School staff give a round of applause after Coeur d'Alene School District Superintendent Matthew Handelman, left, announced on Friday at Atlas that the school was named a National Title 1 Distinguished School for "outstanding student performance."</p>
HAYDEN — Congratulations are in order for Atlas Elementary School in Hayden.
Friday morning, Coeur d’Alene School District Superintendent Matt Handelman surprised teachers and staff gathered in the school’s library with the news that Atlas Elementary has been named a National Title 1 Distinguished School. The announcement was met with cheers, applause, and a few tears of pride and accomplishment.
“The work you do with kids and how hard you work is emotional. It’s personal,” said Karen Troxel, the principal last year at Atlas, as she wiped tears from her eyes after the announcement. “In the long run, you are building strength in kids and helping them to go on in their life and their education.”
Handelman said the award is an honor for the entire school district.
“This shows that hard work and focus of an entire staff pays off,” Handelman said.
Title 1 is a federal program created in 1965 that provides funding to local school districts to improve the academic achievement of disadvantaged students. Title 1 reaches about 12.5 million students nationwide with 65 percent of funds utilized for grades first through sixth.
Each year, the National Title 1 Association Distinguished Schools Program provides each state the opportunity to select one qualifying Title 1 school for its outstanding educational achievements.
This year, the Idaho State Department of Education named Atlas Elementary School the Title 1 Distinguished School for "exceptional student performance."
According to the SDOE, Atlas Elementary ranked almost 35 percentage points above the state average for economically disadvantaged students in English language arts, and 26 percentage points above the state average in math. In addition, the school was awarded $30,000 from Idaho’s Title 1 Academic Achievement Award fund, which can be used at the school’s discretion.
Atlas Elementary’s current principal, Heather Somers, said she plans to put the award funds toward library intervention programs in both writing and math, and she hopes to provide each student with a Chromebook computer for use in the school.
Somers credits the teachers for the school’s achievement.
“It’s the collaborative culture of our teachers, and their ‘whatever it takes’ attitude when it comes to kids and helping them to achieve academic success,” Somers said.