[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 121 (Tuesday, October 3, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9695-S9696]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NOVI HIGH SCHOOL NAMED BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL FOR 1999-2000

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, in 1982, the United States 
Department of

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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 9 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 Novi High School in 
Novi, Michigan, one of these nine schools.
  In the past 30 years, enrollment at Novi High School has grown from 
approximately 360 students to 1,577 students. This is representative of 
the changing shape of the City of Novi during this time period, as it 
has evolved from a rural crossroads to a thriving Detroit suburb. To 
deal with the influx of students, in 1996 Novi High School concluded a 
renovation which had lasted for 30 months and added over 40 percent to 
the original facility. The school now covers 382,000 feet on three 
levels, and includes state of the art instructional areas, science 
labs, a media center, physical education and fine art complexes, and 
telecommunications systems. All classrooms have e-mail and Internet 
access as well as voice communications and two-way interactive video 
within and between district buildings.
  The administrators and faculty of Novi High School are committed to 
providing their students with a well-rounded educational program, 
including a rigorous academic schedule, a variety of extra-curricular 
and athletic programs, and an active student leadership program. This 
commitment led to a two-year, teacher-led initiative of research and 
review of outstanding international high schools. Following this 
process, Novi High School restructured into a four-block class schedule 
so that students would be allowed access to a broader range of 
curriculum and would also be able to take advantage of the new 
technology available for their use. Perhaps more importantly, the 
review and realignment of the curriculum led to a transformation of 
instructional strategies, from traditional lecture to interactive, 
higher-order thinking and application-assessment which have redefined 
the entire education program of Novi High School.
  Novi High School has received many awards, including the ``What 
Parents Want'' award from SchoolMatch for seven consecutive years 
(1993-99), a Gold Medal District Rating by Expansion Management 
Magazine for three years (1996-98), and in 1999 U.S. News and World 
Report selected it as one of the top 96 ``Outstanding American High 
Schools.'' Being named a Blue Ribbon School for 1999-2000 is reflective 
of a desire on the part of administration and faculty to continue to 
provide a better education to the students of Novi High School. The 
staff firmly believes that a quality education program is never static; 
rather, it continually needs to be adapted and improved as new 
resources and different methods of teaching become available. This 
willingness to adapt has been instrumental in the success of Novi High 
School, and I am sure will continue to be instrumental as the school 
leads other high schools, not only in the State of Michigan but 
throughout the country, into the future.
  I applaud the students, parents, faculty and administration of Novi 
High 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 Dr. 
Jennifer Putnam Cheal, Principal of Novi High 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 Novi High School on being named a Blue 
Ribbon School for 1999-2000, and wish the school continued success in 
the future.

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