NEWPORT-Northwest Elementary School received a Sensational Scores award and an Exuberant Environment award from the Save the Children program in December and January.

The Sensational Scores award honored the school for Northwest students achieving an average 96.2 percent correct score on Accelerated Reader (AR) tests in the after-school program and 95.4 percent in the in-school program with 100 percent of the students reading independently during November.

"These scores top Save the Children's goal of 90 percent correct on AR quizzes," said Kathy Holt, Save the Children Site Supervisor for Cocke County. "This is nothing short of amazing!"

According to Holt, Save the Children partnered with Cocke County Schools to offer in-school and/or after-school literacy programs at Northwest, Bridgeport, Cosby Elementary, and Edgemont Schools. "The goal of the programs is to help students in grades K-5 become better readers by focusing on fluency, vocabulary, and guided independent reading," Holt said.

For more details, please see the Tuesday edition of the Newport Plain Talk.