[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 19 (Tuesday, March 3, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E275-E276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      NATIONAL MIDDLE SCHOOL MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RICHARD E. NEAL

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 3, 1998

  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to stand before this great 
legislative body during Education Week to acknowledge the positive 
educational initiatives that are taking place in the Second 
Congressional District of Massachusetts.
  This month is National Middle Level Education Month, and I would like 
to take this opportunity to commend Mary E. Wells Junior High School in 
Southbridge, Massachusetts for the strives they are making in promoting 
academic excellence to all of their students. Mary E. Wells Junior High 
School, under the

[[Page E276]]

leadership of Principal Brian Abdallah and Vice-Principal Bryant 
Montigny, has submitted to me a Proclamation that epitomizes the 
direction that education and standards of excellence should follow 
across the nation. Mary E. Wells Junior High School attained the 
privilege and honor of being nominated by the Massachusetts Department 
of Education as a Blue Ribbon School for the 1997-1998 school year. 
This distinction gives credence to the diligence and dedication of the 
teaching staff at Wells and the positive outcomes that can result when 
challenging standards and curriculum exist and teaching and active 
learning partnerships are pursued.

                              Proclamation

       Whereas, middle level education has a special and unique 
     function in the nation's education system; and
       Whereas, young adolescents are undergoing dramatic 
     physical, social, emotional and intellectual growth and are 
     especially vulnerable; and
       Whereas, the habits and values established during early 
     adolescence have critical, life-long influence; and
       Whereas, this influence affects the future health and 
     welfare of our nation; and
       Whereas, an adequate public understanding of the 
     distinctive mission of the middle level school is necessary 
     for that mission to succeed; and
       Whereas, it is incumbent upon all of us in education and in 
     the larger community to have high expectations for all 
     students, educators, schools, parents, and community members 
     for middle school students to achieve and develop to their 
     fullest potential;
       Therefore be it Resolved, that the month of March 1998 be 
     declared National Middle Level Education Month; and is being 
     celebrated at Mary E. Wells Junior High School in 
     Southbridge, Massachusetts.
       Resolved, that the public be afforded special opportunities 
     to visit middle schools and participate in programs that 
     focus on the nature of young adolescents, celebrate the ways 
     in which our nation's schools respond to their needs and to 
     the needs of the nation; and Resolved, that the public be 
     encouraged to commit to working with schools to provide the 
     highest standard of schooling and highest expectations for 
     all adolescents and adults working with them.

     

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