[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 3, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1116]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO BLONEVA SMITH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 3, 2003

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mrs. 
Bloneva Smith, a remarkable teacher who, after 37 years of dedicated 
service, has decided to retire from the Dade County Schools.
  Mrs. Smith is a graduate from Booker T. Washington Senior High School 
in Miami, Florida. She attended Howard University in Washington, DC, 
where she earned her undergraduate degree. Bloneva Smith is a member of 
Mt. Hermon AME Church and a sister of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
  Mrs. Smith brought to her young students, as well as her young 
teaching colleagues, a wealth of experience and a perspective on 
educational progress that spans some of the most difficult decades in 
our history. Her teaching career began in 1966, during a time when the 
Dade schools were still effectively racially segregated and black 
educators were traditionally assigned to teach at historically black 
schools.
  In January 1970, she was reassigned to Treasure Island Elementary 
School in response to a court order to integrate all schools. Mrs. 
Smith continued teaching there for 16 years before moving on to Rainbow 
Park Elementary and finally to Phyllis R. Miller Elementary School, 
where she has decided to end her teaching career.
  I understand that Mrs. Smith has been called a ``quiet storm'' 
because she gets results without making a big fuss. We thank her for 
her service as a proficient and effective educator, and I know all my 
colleagues join in offering her our best wishes in all her future 
endeavors

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