[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 82 (Thursday, June 6, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO MRS. GLENDA GRAHAM-HARRIS

                                 ______


                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 5, 1996

  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is truly a distinct honor to 
pay tribute to one of Miami's distinguished educators, Mrs. Glenda 
Graham-Harris. Her retirement from the Dade County public schools on 
June 8, 1996, will certainly leave a great void in our community.
  She is the daughter of the late Rev. Edward T. Graham, the first 
African-American ever to serve on the Dade County Board of 
Commissioners and certainly one of Miami's preeminent civil rights 
crusaders. Mrs. Harris grew up in a family ambience consecrated not 
only to the insatiable thirst for learning and excellence, but also to 
the commitment of helping those who could least fend for themselves in 
their quest for equal treatment under the law.
  Heeding the call of service, Mrs. Graham-Harris fully lived up to her 
father's vocation to serve others. She became an educator. Rising from 
the classroom trenches into the higher echelon of the Dade County 
public schools' administration, she was responsible for opening Miami's 
American Senior High School as its first principal in the mid-1970's. 
She subsequently exercised other principalships at Miami Shores 
Elementary School and at Westview Elementary, contributing her 
resourceful expertise toward the pilot testing of the extended school 
program and primary education program, two initiatives which now form 
part and parcel of the school system's curricular activities.
  During her 40-year stint in the Dade County public schools, she was 
known for her unequivocal standards for exacting learning excellence 
and personal achievement both in the school environment and the homes 
of her students. Her tremendous success in motivating many a wayward 
innercity youth earned her the utmost respect and admiration of her 
colleagues. Her hallmark of excellence was defined by her genuine 
forthrightness in demanding utmost discipline in complying with her 
policy on homework and parental involvement long before they were 
adopted as school-based management activities.
  She gained the enormous confidence of countless parents who saw in 
her as an excellent educator, entrusting her with the future of their 
children and confident that they too would learn from her the tenets of 
scholarship under the regimen of a no-nonsense discipline. Her unique 
approach to educating young boys and girls emphasized personal 
responsibility and balance accountability. In times of crisis crowding 
her students' quest for learning, her ever ready guidance and counsel 
was one that verged on faith in God and faith in one's ability to 
succeed, despite all the odds.
  During her tenure with the Dade County public schools our community 
was deeply touched and comforted by her undaunted leadership and utmost 
understanding of the high stakes involved in the education of our 
children. She virtually preached and lived by the adage that the quest 
for personal integrity, academic excellence and professional 
achievement is not beyond the reach of those willing and ready to work 
hard and pay the price.
  This is the legacy of Mrs. Glenda Graham-Harris. I am indeed greatly 
privileged to have known her friendship and her contribution to our 
community's well-being through the acumen of her educational leadership 
and the timeliness of her professional insights. In the name of the 
many parents and guardians whose children were deeply touched by her 
exemplary commitment, I want to thank her and wish her good luck and 
Godspeed on a well-deserved retirement.

                          ____________________