[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 73 (Tuesday, June 9, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H4296]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMENDING THE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS OF MARTINSVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR 
                     ACHIEVEMENT IN PROJECT CITIZEN

  (Mr. GOODE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GOODE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the students and 
teachers of Martinsville Middle School in Martinsville, Virginia, for 
their participation and achievement in the inaugural Virginia State 
competition for Project Citizen, which was held on May 15 in the 
Virginia General Assembly Building.
  I include for the Record a statement of the accomplishments of the 
students and their teachers, Mr. Speaker.
  The statement referred to is as follows:

                     Project Citizen--We the People

       May 15 the inaugural Virginia state competition for Project 
     Citizen was held in the Virginia General Assembly building. 
     This competition is a civics education program for students 
     in grades 6-9. This program promotes competent and 
     responsible participation in government by engaging students 
     in learning how to monitor and influence public policy. As a 
     class project, students work together to identify and study a 
     public policy issue, then try to develop a solution to an 
     issue, and form an action plan to ``solve'' the problem. The 
     final product is a portfolio displaying their work. This year 
     there were seven portfolios on exhibit for judging at the 
     state competition. After the judging was complete, 
     Martinsville Middle School students in Mrs. Linda Cox, Mr. 
     Richard Tobler, Mrs. Carolyn Turner and Mrs. Betsy Ivey's 
     classes won first, second and third places in the 
     competition. The winning portfolio entitled ``Homeless'' 
     examined the homeless situation in Martinsville/Henry County. 
     Since there is no full time shelter for the homeless, the 
     students want the local governments to investigate the 
     possibility of a shelter where not only are the basic needs 
     of food and lodging provided but also job training to break 
     the homeless cycle. The students on this team were Andrea 
     Lawhorn, Tarieton Walmsley, Jennifer Ward, Caroline Titcomb, 
     Demarcus Tarpley, Justin Knighton, Sarah Draper, Shelby 
     Higgs, and Christina Chaney. The portfolio of the winning 
     team will be sent to Las Vegas, Nevada for national 
     competition during the National Conference of State 
     Legislatures July 19-23, 1998.
       The second place team from Martinsville Middle School 
     studied ``Recycling--More Needs to be Done''. The third place 
     group investigated ``Activities for the Elderly''.
       Helen Coalter is the Virginia state coordinator for We the 
     People from the Center for Civic Education.

                          ____________________