[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 49 (Monday, April 12, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JOAN K. ELAM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 12, 1999

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Joan K. Elam, 
Principal, James Monroe High School, North Hills, CA., one of ten 
educators selected from more than 500 applicants to receive the 1999 
Readers Digest American Heroes in Education Award.
  Joan has dedicated her life to her students. She began her career as 
a school teacher in the Newhall area and later transferred to the Los 
Angeles Unified School District where she taught science. She was a 
school counselor at Holmes Jr. High, Assistant Principal and Counselor 
at Dorsey High School, and Principal at Sepulveda Middle School prior 
to coming to James Monroe High School, where she has been the Principal 
for the last 10 years.
  Joan understands the need of students to have stability and was 
responsible for reopening the school only one week after it sustained 
severe damage in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. She manifests Readers 
Digest's challenge of finding new ways to meet the fast-changing needs 
of students today. She launched ingenious programs at James Monroe High 
School which serves 4200 students in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. 
She initiated many vocational classes, including aviation lessons, a 
class that builds race cars, and police and fire academies approved by 
the Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments. A day-care center that 
bears her name provides baby sitting services for the children of 
students.
  Among the school's most creative programs is the Law and Government 
Magnet, the first of its kind in California, which holds mock trials in 
the state of the art courtrooms and provides opportunities to explore 
many professional careers related to the fields of law and government. 
I am proud that my office has participated in this program for the last 
eight years. Each semester two students from the program serve for two 
days a week in my district office assisting my staff with various tasks 
involving constituents, district projects and federal agency inquiries.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join her students, family and 
members of the community in saluting Joan Elan. Her dedication and 
selflessness are an inspiration to us all.

                          ____________________