[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 116 (Thursday, August 1, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1433-E1434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO KEN MOFFETT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JANE HARMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 1, 1996

  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, as a product of K-through-12 public 
schooling in Los Angeles, I can testify it works. It certainly did for 
me.
  But virtually every school in the Los Angeles Unified School System--
including those I attended--could work better. And they must, if every 
kid is to get every chance to succeed.
  An extraordinary public school administrator who transformed Lennox 
schools into safe, attractive, graffiti-free havens for some of Los 
Angeles County's poorest children has just retired. I would like to 
share with my colleagues an excellent article about a visionary 
educator and friend, Ken Moffett, whose leadership will be sorely 
missed:

                 [From the Daily Breeze, July 28, 1996]

    To Sir, With Love--Lennox Schools Say Goodbye to Superintendent

                         (By Marie Montgomery)

       The Ken Moffett era in the Lennox School District is 
     drawing to a close this week.
       Not too many school superintendents quality to have an era 
     named after them. Then again, not too many have a school 
     named after them while they're still alive, and it's unusual 
     to find one who has worked in the same district for almost 20 
     years.
       Moffett, 61, has done all that and more since coming to 
     Lennox in 1976.
       On Wednesday night, the Manhattan Beach resident will walk 
     out the door of his district headquarters and leave his 
     superintendent title behind him. He is retiring to become an 
     education professor at Pepperdine University this fall. He'll 
     also head the university's administrative training program.
       Bruce McDaniel, the district's assistant superintendent for 
     business who has worked with Moffett for more than 10 
     years,will take over the Lennox superintendent post this 
     week.
       ``I wanted to leave on a positive note, and I'm doing 
     that,'' Moffett said, ``I'd like to leave without people's 
     hands pushing in the middle of my back.''
       That was hardly likely given that Moffett was named 
     National Superintendent of the Year in 1994. But retiring now 
     gives him a chance to pursue a second career in academia--one 
     which may help create many more ``Moffett trainees'' to go 
     out and run California's schools.
       ``Ken, for us exemplifies the outstanding qualities needed 
     by a leader to take schools into the 21st century. . . . 
     We're very fortunate to get him,'' said Terrence Cannings, 
     associate dean for education at Pepperdine. ``He brings such 
     a wealth of experience to anyone in today's tumultuous 
     educational environment, and he has the ability to 
     communicate that background to prospective teachers and 
     administrators.''
       Among Moffett's accomplishments at Lennox:
       He transformed district campuses into safe, attractive, 
     graffiti-free havens for some of Los Angeles County's poorest 
     children.
       He helped convince the state in 1985 to give his district 
     $8.2 million to buy Lennox High School from the Centinela 
     Valley Union High School District, refurbish it for $2.7 
     million provided by the state, and convert it to Lennox 
     Middle School.
       He fought state and federal governments in the 1970s and 
     1980s for the right to build a new elementary school on land 
     the district owned directly in the flight path of Los Angeles 
     International Airport, and then got the state to kick in 
     money to build the school underground and soundproof it. 
     Kenneth Moffett Elementary School opened in 1990.
       The same year he won the national superintendent's title--a 
     first for a California superintendent--he also was given the 
     Marcus Foster Award, named for the Oakland schools chief 
     assassinated by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
       Lennox School District was one of the first in the South 
     Bay to join the computer revolution, with the district 
     schools already wired for classroom use of the Internet.
       Teacher salaries in Lennox are the highest in the county, 
     so the district can attract and keep qualified employees.
       Glowing accolades are about all anyone will hear about 
     Moffett.
       His employees praise his enthusiasm and hard work. 
     Colleagues in other South Bay districts stand in awe of his 
     ability to communicate with everyone in the Lennox community, 
     even gang members. And the direct beneficiaries of his work--
     Lennox students--know their superintendent by name a rarity 
     in most other districts.
       ``He's Mr. Lennox to me,'' said school board member Mary 
     Davis who has worked with Moffett for 10 years. ``Before I 
     got on the board, I said to myself, `Who is this man? They 
     think of him like God.' Then when I got to know him, I 
     realized he can talk to anybody and associate wit anybody. 
     Children come first for him. I can't say anything bad about 
     this man.''
       El Segundo Unified School District Superintendent Bill 
     Manahan said Moffett has always been generous with a 
     sympathetic ear and advice for other administrators.
       ``If there is anyone I could emulate, it would be Ken 
     Moffett.'' Manahan said. ``He just has such a sense of love 
     for the community, for the kids. It goes beyond the kids--he 
     cares about the families, too.''
       Moffett made a point of visiting every classroom in his 
     district, every year. He expected all his teachers and 
     administrators to help give extra treats and incentives to 
     students such as trips to a Dodgers game or a restaurant, and 
     he pitched in with those duties too.
       About the only time in Moffett's superintendent career that 
     wasn't rosy was when he resigned briefly in 1986 to take the 
     top job at the ABC Unified School District in east Los 
     Angeles County.
       He had a frustrating 15 months, caught in the middle of 
     district politics. When he decided to apply to return to 
     Lennox because the school board still hadn't filled his old 
     post, he was criticized by some for missing the application 
     deadline and getting rehire anyway.
       But Hector Carrio, a board member who initially voted 
     against rehiring Moffett, is now one of his big fans.
       ``I feel he is one of the most outstanding human beings,'' 
     said Carrio, who worked with Moffett in 1970 at Monroe Junior 
     High School in Inglewood when Moffett was a principal and 
     Carrio was a teacher. ``Under his leadership, we have only 
     one concern--the students. It's our main concern and the rest 
     doesn't count for us.''
       Moffett came to Inglewood from Western Washington State 
     College in 1957, originally intending to teach for one year 
     and then attend law school.
       He never made it. After teaching English and physical 
     education at Crozier Junior High School and working at a 
     school for children of the U.S. military in Germany, he 
     became an Inglewood administrator and then was hired by 
     Lennox.
       Situated in one of the poorest inner-city areas in 
     California, the Lennox district

[[Page E1434]]

     houses 6,000 mainly Latino students. The vast majority speak 
     a language other than English at home. But the district is 
     renowned because of its success in creating English-fluent 
     students.
       ``The thing I'm most proud of is that we created an 
     attitude that all kids could learn, that they all could get 
     along,'' Moffett said. ``We created a model where we showed 
     it could happen.''
       Moffett now hopes to spend more time with his wife, who 
     teaches in Torrance, and with his two grown children--one at 
     West Point and the other in Idaho, training in the ``family 
     business'' to become a teacher.
       And he wants to take a few more vacations and travel--
     although his idea of a relaxing vacation is building a 
     redwood deck on his cabin in the mountains.
       ``I like to be busy, and I'm going to stay busy,'' he said. 
     ``But I won't be gone for home six nights a week.''

                          ____________________