[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 52 (Wednesday, April 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CONGRATULATING NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR KATHLEEN MELLOR

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                         HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 21, 2004

  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Kathleen 
Mellor for being named the 2004 National Teacher of the Year. Mrs. 
Mellor, a resident of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, is the first Rhode 
Islander and also the first English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher 
to be honored with such an award.
  Mrs. Mellor currently teaches at Davisville Middle School and 
Hamilton Elementary School. She has twenty-three years of experience as 
a teacher and has worked with the North Kingstown School Department 
since 1985. She developed an ESL program for the school system that 
allowed ESL students to remain in mainstream classrooms for the 
majority of their day. She fostered a community within the school, 
while encouraging students to share their own cultures and languages 
with one another. This first-rate program flourished and is still in 
place today.
  In addition to her many academic accomplishments, Mrs. Mellor 
volunteers in her community and started a program called Ladybugs where 
mothers of ESL students can practice their conversational English, so 
they can better understand their children's new lives. In recognition 
of her creation of a warm learning environment, energetic disposition, 
and determination for her ESL students to succeed, she was nominated 
for, and won, the 2004 Rhode Island Teacher of the Year Award.
  Mrs. Mellor was named National Teacher of the Year by the Council of 
Chief State School Officers on April 20th, 2004. Today she will be 
recognized for her achievements by President Bush in the Rose Garden of 
the White House. In the next year, 150 national and international 
groups will have the honor of hearing Mrs. Mellor speak while she 
travels as the national ambassador for the teaching profession.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not often enough that the hard work and 
determination of our educators are acknowledged, so it is with great 
pride that I recognize an exceptional teacher like Kathleen Mellor for 
all her accomplishments.
  I hope our colleagues will join me in congratulating Kathleen Mellor 
on her award.

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