LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Little Rock School District's Jefferson Elementary made history Thursday.
The school was named 1 of 367 National Blue-Ribbon Schools across the country.
"This is the biggest honor you can have. The biggest one in the whole nation,” said Sandra Register, principal.
LRSD’s Superintendent Michael Poore honored the students, teachers, and parents for progress in closing achievement gaps.
He commended Register for her hard work leading the school through academic growth.
"She knew she could do it with all of you, the students,” said Poore.
This achievement comes after the state took control of the district in 2015 after six schools had consistently low-test scores.
Jefferson was not one of them, however, students there have made significantly higher scores.
Register credits a joint effort between students, teachers, and parents for the outcome.
"It's not just that we scored high, it's that these students actually grew,” said Register.
The recognition is a reminder to administrators that with a lot of struggles, comes celebration.
"The pride that these young people have in their school, it won't be anything anyone forgets,” said Poore.
Only a handful of other Arkansas schools were honored.
They are Bernice Young Elementary in Springdale, St Joseph's in Fayetteville, Crawford Elementary in Russellville, and Eudora Elementary.