Rochester’s Lincoln K-8 receives national award

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Rochester’s Lincoln Elementary received a prestigious honor Friday. The school is now nationally recognized as a Blue Ribbon School.

It’s an award given by the U.S. Department of Department of Education and is based on a school’s overall academic progress in closing achievement gaps. National Blue Ribbon schools are models of effective school practices for state and district educators throughout the nation.

Friday afternoon, there was a big celebration at the school. Students gathered to watch a congratulatory video, with shout outs from special guests, including Gov. Tim Wal, Rochester Mayor Kim Norton and even a pro athletes.

Principal Jim Sonju said he’s thrilled that the nation knows how special Lincoln Elementary is.

“We’re elated for the whole Lincoln community when we found out. We had to keep it under wraps for a few days and that was really hard. It was fun to celebrate here in a large setting, bring everyone together and say “look what we did.” That was awesome,” Sonju said.

Sonu and RPS Superintendent Kent Pekel will head to Washington D.C. to formally accept award. Lincoln K-8 is one of nearly 300 schools honored this year.

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