[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 121 (Tuesday, October 3, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S9694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         WOLFE MIDDLE SCHOOL NAMED 1999-2000 BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, in 1982, the United States 
Department of Education initiated its Blue Ribbon Schools Program. In 
each year since, the Department has recognized schools throughout the 
country which excel in all areas of academic leadership, teaching and 
teacher development, and school curriculum. In other words, Blue Ribbon 
Schools are the finest public and private secondary schools our Nation 
has to offer. They are the schools that set the standard for which 
others strive. I am very proud to report that nine of the 198 Blue 
Ribbon Schools named by Secretary Richard W. Riley for 1999-2000 are 
located in the State of Michigan, and I rise today to recognize Wolfe 
Middle School, in Center Line, Michigan, one of these nine schools.
  The hope of the Center Line Public School system is that their 
schools will become places where ``every person will be a teacher, 
every teacher will be a leader and every student will be a success.'' 
To this end, Wolfe Middle School is a shining example. Its mission 
statement lays out the following goals: first, to teach students the 
knowledge and understanding embedded in the Michigan core curriculum; 
second, to help students explore their elective areas of interest; and, 
third, to help students as they make the transition from childhood to 
adolescence. Wolfe Middle School has been successful in these areas 
because of the teamwork that has developed, not only among faculty and 
administrators, but also between parents and community members.
  This teamwork is best represented in planning teams, groups which 
involve staff, parents and community members. These teams meet 
regularly in a constant effort to evaluate, improve and enact goals and 
objectives which will continue to move Wolfe Middle School and its 
students in a positive direction. In addition to planning teams, daily 
teacher team meetings take place in which plans are devised for 
classroom instruction, grade level activities and professional 
development. There is an unwavering rule that guides both planning 
teams and teacher teams: all programs must be dedicated to helping 
Wolfe students develop academically, socially and emotionally.
  In recent years, school improvement has focused largely around the 
premise that every student should leave Wolfe computer literate. The 
school has two computer labs, as well as a computer in every classroom. 
Laptop computers are available to take home from the new Media Center 
which allow students to do computer homework. In 1999, a Technology 
Education Laboratory was completed which boasts a robotics area, audio 
and video production studios, and a computer animation station, making 
it among the most advanced laboratories in the Midwest. It is important 
to note that providing students with the opportunity to work with 
computers is part of an overall plan to encourage their participation 
in other areas of education and social interaction--it is not an end in 
itself.
  I applaud the students, parents, faculty and administration of Wolfe 
Middle School, for I believe this is an award which speaks more to the 
effort of a united community than it does to the work of a few 
individuals. With that having been said, I would like to recognize Ms. 
Sue Gripton, Principal of Wolfe Middle School, whose dedication to 
making her school one of the finest in our Nation has been instrumental 
in creating this community. On behalf of the entire United States 
Senate, I congratulate Wolfe Middle School on being named a Blue Ribbon 
School for 1999-2000, and wish the school continued success in the 
future.

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