[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 29, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PREPARING OUR CHILDREN FOR THE FUTURE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 29, 1999

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to recognize the 
outstanding achievements of the Mechanicstown School, an elementary 
school in my congressional district. I especially congratulate School 
Principal Antoinette M. Belfiglio. Mechanicstown is a microsociety 
magnet school. With the help of local businesses, the students and 
faculty of the school are working together to form a working community 
that is run by students under faculty supervision. This community 
within the school will use the skills learned in their classrooms and 
apply them to workplace and real world settings.
  I invite my colleagues to join me in honoring these outstanding 
members of our community. This example of local businesses taking an 
interest in the welfare of their children is exemplary. The dedication 
of our faculty and staff is meritorious.
  Approximately 50 businesses in the local community have joined 
together in support of this program in the Mechanicstown Elementary 
School. There is a careful screening of each venture by a planning 
board, which evaluates the possibility of the business's survival in 
the school. This is done with the aid of Sim Town, a computer program.
  After a permit is issued by the planning board, the business moves in 
and employees are placed by the school's employment agency. The 
children interested in a position are required to go through an 
application process much like the procedure that they would encounter 
in the average workplace.
  Faculty members work with the students to run the business. The 
students take the classroom into the ``real'' world, using the skills 
taught to them in school and applying them in business situations. 
Programs such as the stationary stores, post offices, and the school 
supply store enhance the children's English, Math, and public relations 
skills. The children working in the environmental center, the pet 
store, and the science laboratory apply their knowledge from science 
and Math classes. There are video and computer based businesses in the 
school as well. These are extremely important for a child's survival in 
today's technology based workplace. Children become comfortable with 
computers and video equipment when they are young. This will give them 
an advantage when they emerge into the workforce.
  This program is advantageous for our children. The skills learned 
from hands-on experiences will exhibit to children how to apply their 
classroom lessons. There is a definite benefit in having the children 
working with the faculty. They learn how to interact not only with 
their peers, but with their elders as well.
  Another program that has been implemented in the Mechanicstown Middle 
School is the Morning Program that enables the entire school to meet 
together before the classes begin every day. During this time the 
students share various skills in the areas of music, dancing, and 
literature. Occasionally guests are asked to make presentations to the 
students. This is also an opportunity for the students to be recognized 
for their achievements both academically and also in the local 
community outside of school.
  Out of the entire country, Mechanicstown has recently been chosen to 
be featured in a Japanese educational documentary. The Japanese company 
is honoring one school per country for their amazing feats in the 
educational curriculum, programs, activities, and classes. This is a 
great honor that has been bestowed upon our district's school.
  Mechanicstown School should be highly commended for its innovative 
learning programs. Their dedication to our youth's future is 
invaluable. Mechanicstown is a stellar example of our schools working 
to meet the educational needs of our children. I thank our local 
businesses, the faculty, and the children of Mechanicstown Elementary 
School for their innovative programs, their persistence and hard work. 
I am confident that they will continue in their outstanding efforts.

                          ____________________