WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins received the “1999 I Care Award” at a gathering of school administrators here Friday.

The award was for “her steadfast and untiring efforts on behalf of children in rural and small schools, and ensuring that their cause became the cause of every member of Congress.”

Collins was invited to address the conference on her rural education initiative legislation, which would make federal grant programs more flexible for schools with fewer than 600 students. More than 35 percent of the nation’s school districts have 600 or fewer students.

“I’m honored to receive this award,” Collins said. “I’m especially delighted to have the support of these two fine education organizations, both of which provided invaluable insights as we were drafting the Rural Education Initiative.”

The American Association of School Administrators is a professional organization of more than 14,000 educational leaders in North America and other nations. The American Association of Educational Service Agencies represents regional agencies that provide educational services and coordination to groups of school districts.