[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 34 (Thursday, March 16, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E388-E389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PAYING TRIBUTE TO JAY W. JEFFERS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JON C. PORTER

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 16, 2006

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jay W. Jeffers for his 
career as a teacher. Jay will be honored next week on Tuesday, March 
21, at the dedication of Jay W. Jeffers Elementary School, which is 
named in his honor.
  Born in Milford, UT, on May 7, 1921, he grew up along the railroad, 
the son of a locomotive engineer. In 1939, he graduated from Milford 
High School where he participated in extracurricular activities such as 
the yearbook,

[[Page E389]]

newsletter, band, chorus, orchestra, and debate team. In 1939, Jay was 
accepted to the University of Utah. He worked part-time for the 
Bamberger/Utah Central Railroad, completing office work and loading 
cars, and as a stone mason helper, building flagstone fireplaces and 
barbeque pits. Before finishing his degree, Jay served a mission for 
the LDS Church in the Texas-Louisiana Mission, for 2 years. After 
returning, he went back to the University of Utah and graduated in 1946 
with a teaching degree and a major in geology. The following year, Jay 
moved to Las Vegas and accepted a position as a seventh and eighth 
grade science teacher at the Fifth Street School for $2,600 per year. 
In December 1948, he married June Mac Farlane. The couple has 3 sons, 2 
daughters, 18 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.
  With the desire to further his own education, Jay entered a master's 
program at the University of Utah, and continued to teach full-time. At 
this time, he helped consolidate 13 individual school districts into 
the Clark County School District. In 1953, He received his master's 
degree in administration from the University of Utah and in the same 
year, he was appointed principal at the Washington School in North Las 
Vegas. Also in that year, he became one of four original instructors at 
UNLV, teaching geology and geography part-time, from 1953 to 1971.
  The new Twin Lakes elementary School opened in 1955 with Jay as 
principal. The seventh and eighth grades were still in the elementary 
schools so Jay developed and implemented new programs for those grades 
by departmentalizing subjects and instituting interschool athletic 
competitions. With Jay's support, the district's first elementary 
string music program was held there. In 1964, at a time when large 
numbers of Hispanic pupils were moving to Las Vegas Jay became 
principal of John S. Park Elementary School. He helped establish the 
``English as a Second Language'' program with a philosophy that 
students needed to develop and maintain proficiency in basic reading 
and writing skills, along with learning to speak English. His final 
assignment was principal at Lincoln Elementary School in North Las 
Vegas. After 30 years of teaching, Jay retired in September of 1977. In 
addition to his contributions in education, Jay was a cofounder of the 
Clark County Teachers Federal Credit Union, now Silver State Schools 
Credit Union. He also worked with the Boy Scouts of America for 23 
years.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Jay W. Jeffers. His career and 
life have been dedicated to the education of youth of Clark County. 
Thousands of current and former residents of Clark County cite his 
influence as a factor in their success in life. I thank him for his 
service.

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