[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1085]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PAYING TRIBUTE TO JANICE STRAUSS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MAURICE D. HINCHEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 18, 2002

  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Janice 
Strauss, teacher and child advocate, upon her retirement.
  Jan was born on December 17, 1946 in Pittsburgh, PA to Dorothy and 
Fred Little. The family moved to Niagara Falls, NY on June 6, 1952. Jan 
is the eldest of 5 children, Kathleen, Michael, Douglas and Nancy being 
her siblings. She taught herself to read at four years of age and 
taught her youngest sister, Nancy to read at four. Jan went to St. John 
delaSalle Catholic School until 8th grade, and then finished her public 
school education at Niagara Wheatfield Schools. She was an exchange 
student to Ecuador during the summer between her junior and senior 
years. This is when her love of Spanish and other cultures began to 
flourish.
  Jan went to Harpur College where she majored in Spanish and graduated 
in January 1968. It was at Harpur that she met her future husband 
Geoffrey. They were married on May 18, 1968 and they have two children, 
Micah and Alicia. Jan earned her Masters of Arts in Teaching Spanish at 
SUNY Binghamton in 1970 and is certified to teach Spanish. She is also 
a certified English As A Second Language Teacher.
  Jan is first and foremost a ``people person.'' When she was a senior 
in high school, she convinced her mother that they should take care of 
her maternal grandmother in their home. She also insisted in bringing 
her grandmother-in-law into her home rather than put her in a nursing 
home. When her daughter Micah was born, the lack of credible 
information about breastfeeding led her to enter into a rigorous 
training program to become a La Leche League Leader to help other 
nursing mothers. Over the years, she has welcomed numerous foreign 
exchange students into her home to enjoy and learn about their cultures 
and make them feel welcomed and loved in our country. As her children 
entered public school, wanting to increase the value and quality of the 
public school experience for children, she became involved in the PTA 
holding various offices on the local and regional levels. To advocate 
for the rights and dignity of children, residents and employees, she 
ran for and won a position on the Union-Endicott School Board.
  Next to being a mother, the ultimate example of her love of children 
and people is her teaching. She cares about each student, always 
striving to help each student succeed, even those students ``written 
off'' by others. She considers any student's lack of success a personal 
loss.
  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to salute Jan for her many years of 
distinguished services and devotion to our community. She has left a 
fine mark in the teaching profession and our community and I join her 
family, colleagues and friends in thanking her and wishing her all the 
best on her well-deserved retirement.

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