By Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – Governor Bob Riley joined federal, state and local officials Monday in congratulating the staff and students at Forest Avenue Academic Magnet School. The school was one of three in Alabama to be named a No Children Left Behind Blue Ribbon School for 2007.
Riley's spokesman, Jeff Emerson, said the governor also plans to visit the other two -- Clark School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology in Chickasaw and Virgil I. Grissom High School in Huntsville.
Riley thanked the teachers for their dedication to excellence and thanked the students for working so hard.
Anne Hancock, the U.S. Department of Education regional representative for eight southeastern states, said 250 of the country's 89,000 schools received the Blue Ribbon honor.
Schools are nominated for Blue Ribbon honors by the top school official in each state in one of two categories, either ''dramatically improving schools'' or ''high performing schools.'' All three Blue Ribbon schools in Alabama were recommended by State Superintendent Joe Morton as high performing schools.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)