[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 27, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5880-S5881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO REBECCA RYAN

 Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Ms. Rebecca Ryan, who recently retired after more than twenty years of 
teaching in the South San Francisco Unified School District. Ms. Ryan 
is a shining example of what a dedicated teacher can do.
  Becky Ryan began her teaching career in 1972 in the South San 
Francisco Unified School District. After 28 years, she is ending a 
career that has been filled with many accomplishments.
  With over twenty years of experience teaching English as a Second 
Language Classes, Becky recognized that many immigrant parents, because 
of their inability to speak English, were reluctant to become involved 
in their children's education. This lack of parental involvement was 
detrimental to the children, and led her to found the Spruce Literacy 
Project at Spruce Elementary School in South San Francisco. This unique 
program teaches immigrant parents, mostly mothers, how to read, write, 
and speak English. With a better understanding of the English language, 
parents are able to more fully participate not only in their children's 
education, but also in their local communities.
  The profound effect the Spruce Literacy Project has had was most 
evident last year, when the mothers she taught banded together to 
oppose funding cuts to the program. Becky has been praised for her can 
do spirit and her encouragement of students.
  She has truly made a lasting impact on her students. She has spent 
her career helping to open doors to those who would have otherwise 
found them closed. A good teacher affects many lives, and the greatest 
compliment I can give to Rebecca Ryan is that she helped so many 
students become productive and successful citizens.
  Mr. President, I ask that an article from the Friday, June 9 edition 
of the San Mateo County Times on Ms. Ryan's retirement be reprinted in 
the Congressional Record following my statement.

             [From the San Mate County Times, June 9, 2000]

                  Breaking Barriers and Forging Bonds

                           (By Laura Linden)

       South San Francisco--Many teachers upon retirement can look 
     back and know that they had a positive influence on their 
     students. But perhaps few have helped students make such 
     profound life transformations as Rebecca Ryan, founder of the 
     Spruce Literacy Project at Spruce Elementary School.
       Through the program, Ryan has taught dozens of immigrant 
     parents, mostly Spanish-speaking mothers, how to speak, read 
     and write English. The idea is the parents will get involved 
     with their kids' educations once the language barrier is 
     knocked down.
       But according to several mothers who attended a retirement 
     breakfast for Ryan on Wednesday, her work has radiated 
     outward, affecting every corner of their lives. Ryan, a 
     petite Anglo with energy to burn and a deft command of 
     Spanish, has pumped the women up with praise and 
     encouragement, propelling them into American society with a 
     fearless attitude.
       ``I'm not afraid of anything now,'' said 30-year-old Carmen 
     Reyes, whose child attends Spruce Elementary.
       Reyes' outlook is a psychological world away from the way 
     she felt when she arrived in this country in 1986 with zero 
     English

[[Page S5881]]

     skills and a lot of fear about a society she didn't 
     understand. ``I was scared for everything, everybody,'' she 
     recalled.
       Other mothers echoed this sentiment.
       Before taking the literacy class, rites of parenthood like 
     teacher-parent conferences or PTA meetings were unfathomable, 
     they said. The thought of meeting with a teacher, principal 
     or doctor gripped them with fear. They were worried and 
     frustrated when they could not read a letter sent home from 
     school. Often they were too shy, or even ashamed, to try to 
     find out what it was about.
       So assured are these women now that when the district 
     threatened to cut the Spruce Literacy Project last year, the 
     mothers vociferously rallied to save it. They are also in the 
     midst of a fund-raising drive to replace Spruce Elementary's 
     dilapidated and unsafe kindergarten playground.
       The women still grapple with English, but they've learned 
     that stumbling through the language is the only way to get 
     better.
       ``I can go to the doctor and to the dentist and the bank. I 
     don't need much help,'' said 27-year-old Cristina Rodriguez, 
     who immigrated from Mexico when she was 15 but only recently 
     learned to write. Her newfound skills helped her move up from 
     dishwasher to server at Denny's, she said.
       Ryan started teaching English-as-a-second-language classes 
     in the South San Francisco Unified District in 1972 and still 
     wears a ring that students gave to her that year. A few of 
     those students were at the breakfast on Wednesday.
       ``It's so great to see how well they've done,'' Ryan said. 
     ``One woman's son has graduated from Stanford, another one's 
     child became a doctor.''
       When asked why she is retiring, Ryan just said ``it's 
     time.'' She said she will keep in touch with her former 
     students through sewing and reading groups.
       Teaching ESL for 20 years, Ryan saw that parents were 
     avoiding contact with their kids' schools. She decided that 
     the cultural and language barriers hurt the school as much as 
     the families and founded Spruce Literacy Project in 1992 with 
     a grant from the Peninsula Community Foundation. The program 
     will continue with a new teacher next year, Ryan said.
       On the Spruce Elementary campus, the program is a 
     convenience for the mothers who take their children to class 
     and then head to their own class down the hall.
       Gladis Pacheco, 39, said two years of the literacy classes 
     helped her land a good job for Catholic Charities in San 
     Francisco. She came to this country from El Salvador 18 years 
     ago and for most of those years she avoided speaking English. 
     ``In my country I was a secretary but here I was a maid,'' 
     she said.
       Now she can help her three young children with their 
     homework. Her daughter, Martha, sent a letter to Ryan 
     thanking her for teaching her mom English.
       ``It was so cute, I didn't even know that she did that,'' 
     Pacheco said.
       Perhaps the best part is knowing the children are proud of 
     you, Rodriguez said. ``My daughter was sad before when I 
     couldn't speak English but now she's happy,'' she said.
       Perhaps the best example of Ryan's 28 years in the district 
     is the Flores family.
       Alejandro Flores, 20, and Florisela Flores, 23, took ESL 
     classes from Ryan when they were in elementary school. Now 
     students at San Francisco State University, the siblings say 
     they gained a sense of well-being from Ryan that continues to 
     this day.
       ``I was a silent kid, very lonely. But (Ryan) was so nice 
     to me. I liked computers and she rewarded me with computer 
     time,'' said Alejandro, who along with his studies runs a Web 
     design company with a friend.
       Florisela said she wouldn't be studying three majors with 
     the intention of getting a master's degree in computer 
     science if Ryan hadn't shown her the power of persistence 15 
     years ago.

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