Philipsburg Elementary School is being honored by the state on Monday.

Their says the award shows you don’t need to be a big school in a large city to show academic excellence, it just takes hard work by the students and teachers.

Jacob Clark, 4th Grader at Philipsburg Elementary School, says he looks forward to going to Mrs. Warner’s class everyday.
He says it’s fun to read and write papers using a pamphlet called “Storyworks”.

“I think the teachers are really good, I love my teacher, she makes school really fun, she does fun Fridays and stuff like that and then she does this extra thing called “Storyworks”,” Clark, said.

Monday at the “Division of Federal Programs Improving School Performance” conference in Pittsburgh,
The elementary school will be recognized as a “Title One Distinguished school”.
Student’s scores from state assessment tests last year earned them the distinction. The award was for growth shown by a school.

“Eighty percent of our students were proficient or advanced in Reading and Math and those are the highest scores that this school has ever seen,” Jeff Baker, Principal at Philipsburg Elementary School, said.

90 percent of their third and fourth graders who took the tests also ranked proficient or advanced in science.

Parent, Tiffany Robinson says, in general, people don’t think much of schools in Philipsburg.
But, she says the lack of attention, doesn’t mean their kids aren’t doing well in their classes.

“They definitely underestimate Philipsburg Osceola as far as we don’t win a lot of sports teams, but it just goes to show that all of our kids, they’re succeeding,” Robinson, said.

I asked Jacob Clark and his classmate Duke Bainey what they thought about the schools award.

“My mind was blown,” Clark, said.
My mind was blown too,” Bainey, said.

Principal Jeff Baker is going to Pittsburg on Monday to receive the school’s award.