[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 49 (Thursday, April 5, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E556-E557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO PORTABLE PRACTICAL EDUCATION PREPARATION, INC. FOR BRIDGING 
   THE DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR RURAL FARMWORKER AND HISPANIC COMMUNITIES.

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ED PASTOR

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 4, 2001

  Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Portable 
Practical Educational Preparation, Inc. (PPEP), and its founder, Dr. 
John David Arnold, for bridging the digital divide in two ways: 1) by 
bringing information

[[Page E557]]

technologies into under-served rural farmworker and Hispanic 
communities, and 2) by providing the educational opportunity for at-
risk and farmworker students to obtain technology-based skills through 
PPEP's 13 charter high schools strategically placed in rural areas and 
inner cities. Through these efforts, PPEP is not only removing barriers 
of educational and economic inequity by successfully bringing the super 
information highway infrastructure to rural communities, but also 
encouraging the use of that highway through education and training.
  I applaud PPEP for its dedication to bringing information 
technologies to rural and small schools in Arizona with the creation of 
Arizona Educational Network (AzEdNet). This secure network provides an 
economical link between public and charter school sites and the Arizona 
Department of Education for the state- required transfer of student 
data. The unique design of this network saves the taxpayers of Arizona 
substantial funds while providing fast and secure bandwidth to remote 
rural areas. This network provides online access to students while 
protecting them from online predators and unwholesome sites by 
providing ``best efforts'' filtering software.
  PPEP's educational opportunities are made available through a school 
system of 13 charter schools. To ensure academic excellence, PPEP has 
taken a leadership role in creating the Arizona Performance Based 
Accreditation Program for charter schools. The Arizona Performance 
Based Accreditation Program has been recognized by the State School 
Board Association, the Arizona Board of Regents, and the National 
Office for Charter Schools. With its peer-review system for school 
accountability, is now a national model for charter school 
accreditation. In 1998 PPEP was also instrumental in creating the 
Arizona Regional Resource Center which provides technical support and 
online consultation for charter schools. These developments have 
strengthened charter schools as an educational delivery system and have 
improved the credibility of charter schools. Subsequently, the United 
States Department of Education selected PPEP to operate the High School 
Equivalency Program (HEP) for farmworkers through a charter high 
school. This is the first HEP in the nation funded through a charter 
school.
  Furthermore, PPEP has taken learning beyond the traditional classroom 
by using emerging technologies to create the migrant farmworker Lap Top 
Project, ``a virtual high school'' with self-paced curriculums that 
have provided the opportunity for some 6,000 rural, at-risk students to 
obtain technology-based skills since 1996.
  I salute this vision to carry rural people forward into the technical 
diversity of the 21st Century.

                          ____________________