[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 117 (Friday, September 24, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1708]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    A TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF NORTHWEST COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT AS IT 
  CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FOUNDING IN JACKSON, MICHIGAN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. NICK SMITH

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 23, 2004

  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 
Northwest Community School District in Jackson, Michigan as it 
celebrates fifty years of educational excellence in the Jackson 
community. Our current superintendent, Dennis Desmarais, as well as the 
other administrators, teachers, support personnel, and the 25,000 
residents and parents of the school district should all be proud of the 
lasting contribution they have made in shaping the lives of the young 
people in the Jackson area.
  Northwest School District is one of Jackson County's largest school 
districts, and was established in 1954 when nineteen tiny districts 
consolidated to become Northwest Rural Agricultural Schools. By the 
time R. Willard Kidder became superintendent in 1955, more than 1100 
students were enrolled in the district, and were transported to 23 
buildings on nine buses. The next year, the school's student council 
chose the Mounties as the district's mascot, a name which was taken 
from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, symbolizing fairness, devotion, 
duty, and exemplary service. It was also at this time that red and 
black were adopted as the official school colors.
  Mr. Kidder took over as Northwest's superintendent in 1956 when the 
original superintendent, Dr. Warran Randall, accepted a position in 
Hudson. Under Kidder's leadership, the school grew, the Northwest 
Junior-Senior High School, now R.W. Kidder Middle School, opened for 
students in grades five through nine in 1956. Enrollment continued to 
grow, and peaked at 4,200 when Mr. Kidder retired in 1972. In 1960, 
Flora List Elementary School opened for 700 students in kindergarten 
through sixth grade, and three years later, Parnall Elementary School 
opened on Lansing Avenue to accommodate another 900 students. In 1966, 
Mr. Kidder hired Mr. Joe Koziol to teach driver's education, and Mr. 
Koziol continued to serve the district for nearly four more decades as 
assistant principal in the 1970's and then as the district's 
superintendent from 1998 till 2002.
  On behalf of the United States Congress, it is with great pleasure 
that I rise today to extend our highest praise and congratulations to 
the Northwest School District for its awards and academic honors as it 
marks the 50th anniversary of its founding.

                          ____________________