[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 25, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1324-E1325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO CLARA BARTON HIGH SCHOOL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 25, 1997

  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the students 
of Clara Barton High School of Brooklyn, NY. They have not been 
celebrated as sports heroes. They are not entertainment celebrities. 
But a tradition has been established in academic excellence at Clara 
Barton High School. These students have tirelessly dedicated themselves 
to achieving academic excellence.
  Clara Barton High School recently won fourth place in the ``We the 
People * * * The Citizen and the Constitution'' competition sponsored 
by the Center for Civic Education. This national competition is 
organized to encourage young people to learn more about our 
Constitution and how our Government works. In this competition, 
students demonstrate their knowledge of the Constitution and the Bill 
of Rights before simulated congressional committees composed of 
constitutional scholars, lawyers, journalists, and Government leaders. 
Students compete as classes after completing a comprehensive course of 
study on the Constitution to qualify for the competition. The national 
finalists must win congressional district and State competitions to 
advance to this point.
  This is the second time Clara Barton has placed fourth in the contest 
and the sixth time that they have made it to the national finals as 
State champions. It is quite evident that something great is going on 
at Clara Barton High School. I congratulate the members of the team 
from Clara Barton High School in my district in Brooklyn. My hat goes 
off to you. I want to congratulate each student because I think this is 
part of the process of creating an environment in America where 
education is exalted, where academic and intellectual activities are 
raised to a new level. We must create an atmosphere where our students 
are inspired and given incentives to strive for excellence.
  These are the students who strive for excellence in understanding the 
Bill of Rights and the Constitution: Nicole Aljoe, Munira Basir, 
Letricia Bennett, Michelle Bennett, Katherine Bernard, Slahudin Bholai, 
Dafina Westbrook-Broady, Keusha Carrington, Shakira Chang, Calvin 
Coleman, Dean Douglas, Nirva Dube, Iesha Etheridge, Jonathan Ewars, 
Migdalia Feliberty, Sean Forde, Sharkara Godet, Oslen Grant, Moshesh 
Harris, Rochelin Herold, Christopher Hubbard, Sonia Hurble, Tiffany 
Jefferson, Generva John, Anthony Marin, Anisah Miley, Travis Moorer, 
Calistia Nanton, Franchelica Nunez, Damian O'Connor, Ayo Ogun, Emmanuel 
Onasile, Tamara Osbourne, Charlene Palmerm, Carolina Perez, Natalie 
Pierre, Raquel Rivera, Tanisha Simpson, Camille Sinclair, Vysaisha 
Singh, Vijay Sookedo, Sharon St. Hill, Karrien Stone, Naquida Taylor, 
and Andrea Telford.
  The students at Clara Barton High School come from very diverse 
socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. It was the most diverse team to 
appear at the national contest. The diversity of my district is 
reflected in the names of these children. My district has Cambodian, 
Chinese and Pakistani residents. There are a

[[Page E1325]]

whole array of people from all of the islands of the Caribbean 
including Haitians. It is a wonderful mixture, and represents a part of 
America's rainbow.
  I wish to congratulate Dr. Leo Casey who was the teacher and coach of 
the Clara Barton team. Thanks to Dr. Casey such a winning tradition at 
Clara Barton High School has been established. This clearly shows his 
talent for nurturing the academic achievements of the students. I also 
want to congratulate Mrs. Florence Smith, a former high school teacher, 
who served as the volunteer coordinator for my office. If Members want 
to talk about volunteer services in harmony with the great conference 
recently held in Philadelphia here is an example of the kind of 
volunteers that we have in America. There are committed people who 
retire and, in some cases, spend more time in volunteer activities 
after retirement than they did when they were working.
  Congratulations to all the people who made it happen. In my 
congressional district, the Clara Barton High School team is sponsored 
not only by my office but by the Central Brooklyn Martin Luther King 
Commission. In fact, the money raised to first send this team to Albany 
and Washington, DC was gathered by the Central Brooklyn Martin Luther 
King Commission. There are some other organizations that have also 
become sponsors. Children's Times is a publication on education. Judge 
Thomas Jones and his wife have been very instrumental in encouraging 
the young people at Clara Barton High School and in raising money to 
make certain that they were able to go to Albany and Washington, DC. So 
it has become a group enterprise of great magnitude. It is one of those 
activities that we should see more of nationwide.
  I salute the Clara Barton High School championship team from the 11th 
Congressional District of New York for their outstanding performance. I 
would also like to congratulate all the schools and all the youngsters 
across America who are champions in intellectual and academic 
activities.

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