001okay good afternoon everyone hello thank you for coming this afternoon on such short notice today and every day i am so grateful to work with a group of educators who care so much about the work we do for our students sometimes it might seem like your work goes unnoticed and sometimes your hard work is noticed and it is validated and acknowledged so with that said i would like to play a video from the secretary of education betsy devos [Music] hello i'm education secretary betsy devos i'm pleased to celebrate with you as your school is named a national blue ribbon school we recognize and honor your important work preparing all students for successful careers and meaningful lives last spring grade school leaders pivoted and kept learning going for their students as health realities disrupted everything they
002are examples of how great school leaders great teachers community leaders and families can rise to the challenge and do the next right thing for their students congratulations on your students accomplishments and for your commitment to their futures now it's my pleasure to introduce 2020's national blue ribbon schools [Music] so [Applause] i also want to share my congratulations with not only our norton staff but our entire community and particularly our students on this incredible accomplishment if you're not familiar with the blue ribbon schools program it is incredibly exclusive uh less than a third of the percent of all american schools receive this recognition annually and so for the work that you've done i know how hard all of our staff work to provide an incredible educational experience for our students and what it means to contribute
003as part of this family as a faculty for each other is incredibly special so i am so humbled and so proud to honor you and to be a part of this incredible recognition i couldn't think of anybody more deserving congratulations on behalf of everybody in cheshire on your incredible feat great job everybody [Applause] i want to introduce our chairman of the board of education tony pereggini thank you everyone as your chair of cheshire connecticut for education on behalf of the board of itself on behalf of all the constituents stakeholders and community we represent aboard a big heartfelt thank you i'm well deserved congratulations this is fun do not set up each year to try to win this award directly but i believe it's a culmination of all your hard work teamwork support structures you put
004in place the relationships you make each other with your students to help them reduce that achievement gap and i think this has happened across all our schools and i'm very proud of you i'm very proud of cheshire public schools and it's so nice to handle weakness but on behalf of the board that we've known about this for some time and we were sworn to secrecy so this is very exciting to let you share and enjoy and i need to try to say a few words our norton teachers and to our faculty as well who may not be with us i'm so proud of you thank you for your passion and commitment to our students and our families your willingness to get to know your students personally and as learners allows you to move their learning
005forward into sort of great heights each and every day your dedication to establishing your trusting environments built on respect and care combined with your steadfast commitment to employing best practices personalizing learning and staying focused on growth for all of our students is what makes us a blue ribbon school with the support of our strong central office leadership you have remained focused on our goals of complex thinking and social emotional learning while supporting each other your colleagues and partnering with our families to ensure these goals are met this is the recipe for success and the reason we deserve this award this blue ribbon award validates all that we do every day and nobody deserves it more than you our open staff i hope that this incredible acknowledgement will fuel the work that we continue to do
006during this very difficult time please never doubt the difference that you make each and every day you are blue ribbon teachers in this fantastic amazing blue ribbon school congratulations thank you for all that you do every day [Applause]