[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 54 (Tuesday, May 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING DR. MICHAEL B. WALSH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 5, 1998

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join with my constituents 
and the students, parents, teachers and administrators in honoring Dr. 
Michael B. Walsh upon his retirement as superintendent of the Smithtown 
Central School District. Dr. Walsh personifies that most effective 
educator who is not only recognized as a scholar in his field of 
specialization, but also is able to educate others through the 
effective example he creates in his own behavior.
  His educational endeavors typify the true American success story. 
Beginning as a teacher of mathematics in the Levittown School District, 
Dr. Walsh quickly advanced through a series of leadership positions. As 
Chairman of the Mathematics Department of Smithtown Central High 
School, he introduced and supported several experimental programs that 
successfully enhanced the school's curriculum and resulted in increased 
student achievement. It soon became apparent to the leaders of the 
Smithtown Central School District that Michael Walsh possessed valuable 
and effective administrative and instructional talents that extended 
far beyond the area of mathematics and would serve to enhance the 
comprehensive program that was being offered by the district. Dr. Walsh 
became a Central Office Administrative Intern and went on to assume the 
positions of Assistant to the Superintendent for Central Administration 
and Administrator for Operations. In 1982, he joined the Amityville 
School District and, during a ten year tenure, served as the district's 
Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent. In 1992, he returned to 
Smithtown to assume the district's superintendency. Realizing the 
impact rapidly changing technology would have on our students' lives, 
he was most instrumental in developing a partnership with Symbol 
Technology in creating a wireless transmission component that would 
link the schools in a classroom setting.
  Dr. Walsh's talents have been recognized outside the Smithtown 
District. He serves as an Adjunct Instructor of Educational 
Administration at the School of Professional Development at the State 
University of New York at Stony Brook. He is secretary of the Suffolk 
County School Superintendent's Association and is a member of the House 
of Delegates of the New York State Committee of School Superintendents.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in recognizing 
these honors Dr. Walsh so richly deserves. It is a most effective 
teacher who can create positive change in a classroom. Dr. Michael B. 
Walsh has had an impact far beyond the classroom and his great talents 
have enhanced and fulfilled our community.

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