Colorado Springs-area elementary school receives $10,000 award, named distinguished school
Jan. 20—Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in El Paso County received a distinguished school award and an accompanying $10,000 on Thursday. The Widefield District 3 school is the recipient the 2022 Elementary and Secondary Education Act Distinguished School Award.
Colorado Education Commissioner Katy Anthes presented the award at a special ceremony before the student body, according to a news release from the Colorado Department of Education.
"The administrators, teachers, support staff and parents have done a tremendous job working together to make sure all of the students at King Elementary are succeeding," Anthes said.
High-achieving Title I schools — where low-income students comprise 35% or more of the student population — are eligible for the honor. King Elementary was selected out of 750 eligible Title I schools "for producing exceptional student performance and academic growth for two consecutive years," the release said. The $10,000 will be used to support its Title I programs.
The school has consistently been one of the state's top-performing schools, according to the Colorado Department of Education, earning the highest rating in Colorado's accountability system since 2016. In 2022 King Elementary performed better than 65% of all other Colorado elementary schools on state testing in math better than 70% of all other Colorado elementary schools in English language arts.
