[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 123 (Thursday, September 20, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO MARTHELIA HARGROVE ON BEING AWARDED THE 2001 JOSEPH AND 
         FRANK DUVENECK HUMANITARIAN AWARD FOR REGIONAL SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 20, 2001

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American and 
distinguished California, Marthelia Hargrove, who is being honored with 
the 2001 Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Award for regional 
service on Saturday, September 22, 2001, in Los Altos Hills, 
California.
  Named the National Principal of the Year for 2000-2001 by the 
National Alliance of Black School, Educators Marthelia Hargrove has 
distinguished herself as a passionate advocate of students and the 
disenfranchised, and as a model of excellence in teaching and 
administration.
  A native of the segregated South, Marthelia Hargrove traces her 
commitment to education back to a one-room schoolhouse near Oxford, 
North Carolina. A child growing up in the wake of the depression, her 
parents endured great sacrifice in order to ensure that Marthelia, her 
sister and her brother received a decent education. Marthelia Hargrove 
earned a scholarship to study at Virginia Union University in Richmond 
and a Master's Degree in early education form Petersburg's Virginia 
State University.
  Having married while in Richmond, Marthelia and her husband relocated 
to Santa Clara 28 years ago where they've lived ever since. In 1981, 
Marthelia Hargrove was appointed principal of the Brentwood Oaks School 
in East Palo Alto. Nine years later, she took the helm at Costano 
School, determined to transform this low-achieving elementary school 
into a premier teaching institution. During her eleven-year tenure, she 
has more than succeeded. Last year, Costano's score in the California 
Academic Performance Index was 142 points higher than the previous year 
and 84 points higher than the state median.
  The recipient of the Ravenswood Principal of the Year Award, 
Marthelia Hargrove has also been honored by the Mid-peninsula NAACP, 
the San Jose University Department of Teacher Education, the Ravenswood 
Community Nguzo Saba Committee, the San Mateo County Sheriff's 
Department and the City of East Palo Alto. A member of the National 
Political Congress of Black Women, she also serves on the Board of the 
East Palo Alto Kids Foundation.
  Marthelia Hargrove has dedicated her life to building extraordinary 
educational institutions that involve students, parents and community 
members as stakeholders and beneficiaries. She has worked hard to 
provide a brighter future for underprivileged children and for children 
of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. It is therefore fitting that 
Marthelia Hargrove is being honored with the 2001 Josephine and Frank 
Duveneck Humanitarian Award. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join 
me today in honoring this great and good woman who has given so much to 
our young citizens and to our educational institutions. We are indeed a 
better nation, a better community and a better people because of her.

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