Edgecomb Eddy School has been selected as Maine’s Distinguished Performance School for 2009. 

Principal Lisa Clarke (left) and Kindergarten Teacher Jennifer Gosselin (right) are shown holding their school banner, as they are flanked by faculty and staff members of Edgecomb Eddy School. The staff members are celebrating the honor bestowed upon them as Maine’s 2009 National Title I Distinguished School. Ms. Clarke and Mrs. Gosselin will be representing their school at the 2010 National Title I Conference in Washington D.C. from January 21-24.  Front row, left to right, is Lisa Clarke, Carol Small, Bill Coombs, Fran Sherburne, Terry Morrison, and Jennifer Gosselin. Middle row is Jennifer McIvor, Erin Michaud, Debbie Beam (partially hidden), and Tanya Thibault. Back row is Nancy Rose, Madeline Olney, Terry Mulligan, Judy Reid, Dawn Garey, and Robin MacCready.

Since 1996, the National Title I Distinguished School Program has honored schools across the country for their innovation in helping Title I populations achieve high educational standards. The Distinguished Schools Program is a project of the National Title I Association and provides an opportunity for Title I schools from every state to be publicly recognized for their educational achievements. Distinguished Schools are selected from each state in one of two categories:

·       Exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years.

·       Closing the achievement gap between student groups.

Edgecomb Eddy School has been selected as Maine’s Distinguished Performance School for 2009 based on Maine Educational Assessment data over the past three years. Last year, over 95% of Edgecomb Eddy’s third through sixth graders demonstrated proficiency in reading and math. The school’s three-year average is over 80%.  Schools selected for this national recognition must have a poverty rate of at least 35% for the selected year, must have demonstrated high academic achievement for two or more consecutive years, and must have met or exceeded state standards for making “adequate yearly progress”(AYP) for two or more consecutive years.

As Maine’s Distinguished School 2009, Ms. Clarke and Mrs. Gosselin will be representing Edgecomb Eddy School, funded by a grant through the Title I foundation, where they will participate in a parade of Distinguished Schools from 49 other states. They will also be honored at a special luncheon where each Distinguished School will be recognized. The four-day conference will feature keynote speaker Ron Clark, a former National Teacher of the Year, an author of educational books, and a man whose story has been made into a movie entitled, “The Ron Clark Story.” Also speaking at this national conference is the United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Duncan, confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009.

In his confirmation hearings, Duncan called education "the most pressing issue facing America," adding that "preparing young people for success in life is not just a moral obligation of society" but also an "economic imperative." "Education is also the civil rights issue of our generation," he said, "the only sure path out of poverty and the only way to achieve a more equal and just society." Duncan expressed his commitment to work under the leadership of President Obama and with all those involved in education "to enhance education in America, to lift our children and families out of poverty, to help our students learn to contribute to the civility of our great American democracy, and to strengthen our economy by producing a workforce that can make us as competitive as possible." ( retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/news/staff/bios/duncan.html.

Prior to his appointment as secretary of education, Duncan served as the chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools, a position to which he was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley, from June 2001 through December 2008, becoming the longest-serving big-city education superintendent in the country.

Mrs. Gosselin and Ms. Clarke  meet President and Mrs. Obama .