BLOOMINGTON — Opening a new school, said Bloomington Mayor Steve Stockton, is “like opening a birthday gift.”

“Somebody put a lot of thought into the gift they gave you,” Stockton told the 500 students at Cedar Ridge Elementary, one of two new Unit 5 elementary schools to open this fall.

They also were applauded — for 12 minutes! — by more than 100 community members invited by the Cedar Ridge Promise Council, which helps with academic supplies, mentors and volunteers…The Promise Council helps schools get resources to children, said chairman George Galindo, a member of Unit 5’s diversity committee and a State Farm Insurance Cos. Hispanic resource group. The council works with the school parent-teacher group, the Rocket Boosters, on barriers caused by language, poverty and other obstacles.

About 70 percent of Cedar Ridge students come from low-income families and about 30 percent are Hispanic. Most previously attended Brigham Elementary School, which now houses the district’s early childhood education program…

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