Honoring Doral Performing Arts and Entertainment Academy

Floor Speech

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Doral Performing Arts & Entertainment Academy and to congratulate the school on being recognized as a 2014 National Blue Ribbon recipient.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Every year the U.S. Department of Education seeks out and celebrates great American schools, and Doral Academy has earned that distinction.

This is quite an accomplishment, and a testament to the commitment the school has shown to educating its students and providing them with the best faculty and resources to succeed. The school has truly taken its mission of preparing students, and instilling in them a belief in their own efficacy, seriously.

Doral Academy opened its doors in 1999, and currently serves 2800 students. Doral Academy believes that engaging families and communities contributes to greater academic achievement and to the improvement of the school as a whole. This model of engagement is predicated on three core beliefs: student achievement increases the more knowledge parents have about their children's school experience; greater involvement of families through non-academic channels still contributes to greater academic buy-in by all; and the more a school invests in a community, the more resources, support networks, and allies are available to bolster the health and vitality of the school holistically.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to pay tribute to Doral Performing Arts & Entertainment Academy for their tremendous service to its students and the tireless work of their faculty, and I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing this remarkable school.

Source