Goal is for Kentucky schools to make Top 20 by 2020

Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, September 04, 2008

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First-graders at Liberty Elementary – representing the state’s Class of 2020 – were the center of attention at the academic pep rally. The University of Kentucky’s pep band (behind the kids) also chimed in.

First-graders at Liberty Elementary – representing the state’s Class of 2020 – were the center of attention at the academic pep rally. The University of Kentucky’s pep band (behind the kids) also chimed in.

First-graders at Liberty Elementary – representing the state’s Class of 2020 – were the center of attention at the academic pep rally. The University of Kentucky’s pep band (behind the kids) also chimed in.Liberty first-graders lined up in the gym before the start of the pep rally, which was sponsored by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.Cheerleaders from Morton Middle School formed a tunnel for the kids to run through.All the students at Liberty gathered for the pep rally, where the recurring cheer was “Top 20 by 2020!”

An enthusiastic crowd filled the gym at Liberty Elementary School to kick off the “Top 20 by 2020 for Kentucky Schools” campaign, sponsored by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

“Doing your best really does matter. ... We are the future doctors, teachers and leaders of our state,” Morton Middle School seventh-grader Briana Thompson said. “Let’s make our schools and our state the best in the United States of America!”

The goal of the Prichard Committee campaign is for Kentucky to be among the top 20 states in educational achievement. Currently, the Commonwealth is No. 34 in an overall education index – up from 43rd in 1990.

Among those gathered Thursday at Liberty were students, parents, teachers, school administrators and public officials, as well as the Morton cheerleaders and the University of Kentucky’s pep band.

Liberty teacher Shelley Dickson praised the first-graders, who assembled on the stage to represent the state’s Class of 2020. “They are the ones who will move Kentucky into the top 20,” she said to cheers.

Superintendent Stu Silberman also encouraged all the students.

“It takes everybody working together,” he said. “This is about you, boys and girls. Every single student has to work extremely hard.”

For more information about the campaign, contact Cindy Heine, associate executive director of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, at (859) 233-9849 ext. 222 or cheine@prichardcommittee.org.