[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 14 (Thursday, February 6, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E184-E185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           DR. DORIS ALVAREZ: NATIONAL PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 6, 1997

  Mr. FILNER, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Doris 
Alvarez, a distinguished leader from my home town of San Diego who has 
made a positive impact on thousands of young lives in our community. I 
am proud to congratulate Doris Alvarez, the principal of Hoover High 
School in San Diego, who today was named the National Principal of the 
Year by MetLife and the National Association of Secondary School 
Principals, the largest school leadership organization in the Nation.
  Like those before her who have received this high honor as the 
Nation's best principal, Doris Alvarez has worked tirelessly for the 
benefit of every student enrolled at her school. Ten years ago, Hoover 
High was best known for the crime-ridden neighborhood in which it was 
located and its excessive dropout rate of 13 percent.
  Then Doris Alvarez took the helm. Today, Hoover graduates 98 percent 
of its students. Hoover's dropout rate of 2.3 percent is less than half 
of the average national dropout rate. Hoover has been transformed from 
a school where dropping out was the norm to a flourishing environment 
where half of its students go to college.
  Doris Alvarez has produced these results in an environment where 
students are faced with a host of challenges. Most students at Hoover 
live in neighborhoods with high crime rates. Eighty-two percent of 
Hoover students are poor. Ninety-three percent are immigrants or 
minorities, who speak a total of 30 languages.
  Doris Alvarez has been so successful with these students because of 
her own challenging background. She grew up poor in Albuquerque, NM and 
San Diego as the child of Spanish-speaking parents who taught 
themselves English and left school after the 8th grade. She and her 
family were discriminated against at every turn--a fact that motivated 
Doris to succeed.
  She has put her credo--``all kids need equal opportunity''--to 
practice at Hoover High School. With innovative alumni mentoring, 
student-teacher ``academic families,'' and an on-site school clinic, 
Doris Alvarez has brought the community together in the interest of 
educating its young people.
  Mr. Speaker, President Clinton this week called upon the American 
people to work together, to realize that every student deserves

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the opportunity to succeed, and to improve America's educational system 
for the benefit of all students. Doris Alvarez accomplishes this goal 
every day at Hoover High School. I am pleased to see both her goals 
realized and her efforts recognized with the National Principal of the 
Year award.

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