[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 146 (Monday, October 25, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO RONALD PRESCOTT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                          HON. JULIAN C. DIXON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 25, 1999

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, we rise to pay tribute to our good friend, 
Ron Prescott, the recipient this year of the Distinguished Educator 
Award from the Charter School of Education at California State 
University, Los Angeles. It is simply impossible to overstate the 
contribution that Ron has made to public education during the past 38 
years. From his early post as a teacher in three inner-city schools to 
his current position as deputy superintendent for the Los Angeles 
Unified School District, Ron has devoted his life to improving our 
public schools and boosting educational opportunities for the young 
people of his community, State, and Nation.
  Ron launched his career in the 1960's as a teacher at two east Los 
Angeles schools and a third in south Los Angeles. His classes were 
filled with minority students to whom Ron committed his time, talents, 
and resources with enormous dedication. In addition to classroom 
teaching, Ron served as lead teacher for specially funded programs, 
master teacher and was the sponsor of a student intergroup program. 
Even after he left the classroom, Ron spent 3 years working as 
consultant on intergroup relations.
  From the early 1970's, Ron has held a number of key administrative 
posts with the Los Angeles Unified School District. From 1978-81, Ron 
served as deputy area administrator, providing support services for 
55,000 students from 85 different cultural groups. From 1982-84, Ron 
was administrator for Student Adjustment Services. In this post, he was 
responsible for direct expulsion proceedings, foreign-student 
admissions, and liaison services and attendance accounting. In Ron's 
current position, deputy superintendent in the Office of Government 
Relations and Public Affairs, he oversees grants assistance, policy 
research and development, and Parent Community Services, among other 
duties and responsibilities.
  Ron has also worked with numerous outside organizations in the area 
of public education. In 1973, he founded the Tuesday Night Group, a 
Sacramento-based education coalition that remains active. He is also a 
current board member of Policy Analysis in California Education, and 
has served a term as president of EdSource (education policy research 
council).
  This is but a sampling of Ron's distinguished career in education. He 
has been honored by the California Legislature, Phi Delta Kappa, the 
Padres y Maestros de Aztlan, and the YMCA for his leadership in 
education and his service to youth. It is an honor to recognize his 
accomplishments today and to ask our colleagues to join us in saluting 
Ron Prescott, who has worked tirelessly throughout his career to make a 
better world for our children. His selflessness and sense of community 
are a shining example for us all.

                          ____________________