[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 19 (Friday, February 18, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E300-E301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING DR. MARY BELLE McCORKLE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 17, 2005

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Dr. Mary Belle 
McCorkle, a fine Tucsonan who has set a remarkable example for us all. 
This weekend, Mary Belle will receive an award that is much deserved; 
she will be named the 2004 Woman of the Year by the Tucson Metropolitan 
Chamber of Commerce (2004).
  Over the years, Mary Belle has made a significant commitment to 
education in our community. Her hard work has provided us all with 
benefits of immeasurable worth. In her early years with the Tucson 
Unified School District, Mary Belle served as Assistant Superintendent 
of Instruction, Principal of both Borton Primary Magnet School and 
Erickson Elementary School and as a classroom and helping teacher. Her 
next move led her to become the Assistant Superintendent for Elementary 
Curriculum and Instruction in the Sunnyside Unified School District in 
Tucson, from which she retired in 1993.
  Mary Belle then went on to serve on the Tucson Unified School 
District Governing Board for three terms, from 1993 through 2004. She 
was President of the Board four times and Clerk of the Board twice. In 
addition to these numerous important jobs, Mary Belle finds the time to 
mentor administrative interns and teach classes at the University of 
Phoenix. She has served as an educational consultant for five Arizona 
school districts, and currently is an Arizona Department of Education 
Solutions Team Leader. Indeed, Mary Belle has given her talents toward 
many causes and she has put forth her full effort into each and every 
one.
  A few of Mary Belle's many accomplishments during her tenure on the 
Tucson Unified School District Governing Board stand out in my mind. In 
an effort to improve student achievement, Mary Belle led the charge to 
create an all-day kindergarten program and also to add counselors for 
elementary schools as she had done while at Sunnyside. Furthermore, she 
mediated a severe labor dispute which could have resulted in a work 
action.
  Among other awards and recognitions Mary Belle has received in the 
past are the Ray Davies Lifetime Achievement Award from the Educational 
Enrichment Foundation (2004), the Frances Miller Community Action Award 
by the Southern Arizona Association for Education of Young Children 
(2003), the LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) 
Presidential Citation (2003), the Friend of the

[[Page E301]]

Pan Asian Community designation by the Pan Asian Community Alliance 
(2001), the Dynamic Duo Award by Compass Health (2002), the All-Arizona 
School Board Award by the Arizona School Boards Association, the 
Outstanding Educator Award by the University of Arizona Alumni Council 
of the College of Education, and a Woman on the Move Award by the YWCA.
  Undeniably, Dr. Mary Belle McCorkle has had an extensive and 
successful career. Moreover. she has achieved her professional goals 
while raising a loving family, whom she also has taught to value and 
commit to education. She is married to Richard McCorkle, a retired 
Director of Purchasing for TUSD. They have two daughters: one is 
principal of Dietz Elementary School in TUSD, and the other is a school 
psychologist at Desert View High School in Sunnyside Unified School 
District. Four grandchildren and one great grandchild have or will 
attend TUSD schools.

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