[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1735-E1736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MS. CECILE DICKEY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 9, 2003

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call your attention to the 
life and work of an outstanding individual who I feel fortunate to call 
my friend, Ms. Cecile Dickey. She was recognized on Tuesday, September 
9, 2003, for her 28 years of unwavering dedication and service to the 
Head Start Program in my hometown of Paterson, New Jersey.
  During her long and distinguished career as the Executive Director of 
Concerned Parents for Head Start, Ms. Dickey has maintained 
responsibility for the overall administration and operation of a 
program that includes Early Head Start, teenage student mothers, and an 
adult education program for welfare recipients that prepares its 
students for gainful employment. It is only fitting that Cecile Dickey 
be honored for her commitment to improving the quality of life in 
Paterson through education in this, the permanent record of the 
greatest freely elected body on earth.
  Cecile Dickey began her career with Head Start in the summer of 1965 
when, after registering her son in Project Head Start, she volunteered 
her services as a Parent/Volunteer. Over the next 7 years, Cecile, 
progressed from volunteer to assistant teacher to teacher and, in 1973, 
she was named the Director of

[[Page E1736]]

Concerned Parents for Head Start. Under Ms. Dickey's dedicated 
leadership, Head Start has grown to accommodate over 700 pre-school 
aged children in six locations throughout Paterson.
  As the Executive Director of Head Start, Cecile soon recognized the 
need to remain knowledgeable about the newest trends in childhood 
education in order to ensure the quality education that her students 
deserved. Deciding to return to college, Ms. Dickey earned degrees in 
Early Childhood and Special Education from William Paterson University 
and in Public Policy and Urban Education from St. Peter's College in 
Jersey City. In 1989, she accepted a lectureship in the Public Policy 
Department at St. Peter's College where she spent the next 7 years 
sharing her enthusiasm and expertise with her college-aged students 
while continuing her duties as the Executive Director of Concerned 
Parents for Head Start.
  In many ways, Cecile Dickey's commitment to the young children of 
Paterson has extended beyond the classroom walls. She was instrumental 
in enacting the New Jersey Anti-Lead Bill, and has served on several 
Educational Task Forces for former Governor Thomas H. Kean. She was the 
founding president of the New Jersey Head Start Association and a 
former Vice President of Region II (New York, New Jersey, and Puerto 
Rico) of the National Head Start Association. Ms. Dickey currently 
serves on the board of the Second Baptist Church Community Development 
Corporation in Paterson, and heads a Not-For-Profit Housing Corporation 
which has completed and sold 47 townhouses in the City of Paterson. She 
was recently appointed to the Board of Trustees of St. Joseph's 
Hospital.
  Cecile Dickey's exemplary service to the City of Paterson has been 
recognized both locally and nationally. She is the recipient of the Ann 
Phipps Memorial Award--the highest honor in National Head Start 
Service. In addition, she has received the William Paterson University 
President's Medal, the Passaic County College Woman of the Year Award, 
and the Johnson and Johnson Fellows MIP Award. Yet, despite the many 
commendations and prestigious seats on councils and boards that she has 
received over the years, her work as the executive director of 
Concerned Parents for Head Start has remained Ms. Dickey's first love.
  Mr. Speaker, the job of a United States Congressman involves so much 
that is rewarding, yet nothing compares to recognizing the efforts of 
devoted educators and public servants like Ms. Cecile Dickey. I ask 
that you join our colleagues, the faculty and students of Head Start, 
Ms. Dickey's family and friends, and myself in recognizing Cecile 
Dickey for 38 years of outstanding service to the children of Paterson.

                          ____________________