[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 83 (Thursday, June 14, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S6314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I rise today to commend the 
exceptional achievement of 8 schools in Portland, OR: Humboldt, 
Marysville, Chief Joseph, Woodmere, Clark, Grout, Kenton and Vestal 
Elementary Schools.
  We have spent 8 weeks in this Chamber talking about education. We 
have debated the best ways to educate America's children, to raise 
academic achievement of disadvantaged students, and change failing 
schools into successes. While we have been busy talking, schools in my 
home State have been working hard to educate our children.
  I want to make special mention of eight schools in the Portland 
Public School District. Over the past 3 years, these remarkable 
schools--where more than half of the students come from low income 
families--made greater strides in raising student test scores than all 
others in the school district. Due to the hard work of students, 
parents, teachers, and principals, reading and math scores have 
significantly improved, the achievement gap between poor and minority 
students and white students narrowed, and parents, including those new 
to our country, became part of the fabric of the school community.
  Today, I commend the principals and teachers of these great schools. 
These educators represent an ideal. They are dedicated; they are 
creative; and they transform children into scholars. They will do 
anything for their students, even work extra jobs to earn money to buy 
books for their students. Their hard work has helped their students 
achieve record academic improvement today and it has set the stage for 
these children's success for years to come. I thank them for their 
efforts.
  I also thank the parents of these children. They have made a real 
difference in their children's education by volunteering at school, 
reading with their children, and encouraging their students to devote 
their best efforts to their studies.
  Above all, I salute the students of these outstanding schools. The 
countless hours they have spent inside and outside the classroom 
practicing their reading and writing, working math problems, and 
conducting science experiments have not been in vain. They have paid 
off in a remarkable way. Many of these students don't speak English as 
their first language; many come from low income families; and all are 
from areas of the city which had never expected to see such success. 
Yet these very students have realized this extraordinary 
accomplishment.
  The improvements in the test scores of these children are incredible. 
The Oregonian newspaper reports the following: At Humboldt 
[Elementary], 71 percent of fifth graders in 2000 met or exceeded math 
benchmarks. Only 31 percent of those students met math standards as 
third graders in 1998. At Marysville Elementary in Southeast Portland, 
78 percent of fifth-graders met math benchmarks in 2000. Thirty-two 
percent of those students passed the State math test as third graders.
  But even more important than these significant gains in test scores, 
these dedicated students have cultivated a love of learning that will 
last the rest of their lives. This thirst for knowledge guarantees that 
this is just the first of many successes to come.
  A study by the Portland Public Schools Foundation attributed the 
advances of these schools to the same principles we have been 
discussing here: strong principals, high parent involvement, and 
professional development opportunities for teachers.
  I share the achievement of these students with my colleagues because 
it reminds every member of the U.S. Senate that better education is 
becoming a reality across America. Our work here is important, but the 
true source of academic achievement is the dedication, the dreams, and 
the hard work of students, teachers, and principals like these in 
Portland. The best we can do is to give them the tools they need to 
succeed.
  In closing, allow me to commend, once again, the students, parents, 
and educators in these schools for this great accomplishment, for the 
hope they give us, and for the high standard they set for all of us.

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