[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E411]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E411]]


                     IN HONOR OF DR. RUDY CASTRUITA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 28, 2006

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and 
pay tribute to Dr. Rudy Castruita of California on the occasion of his 
retirement as San Diego County Superintendent of Schools. I have known 
Dr. Castruita since 1994 when he became County Superintendent in San 
Diego and have always been impressed by his tireless commitment to 
children and the students across the school districts he served. He 
dedicated his career to furthering the cause of education and to 
helping our kids learn.
  Prior to his appointment as Superintendent in San Diego, he served 
with great distinction for six years as superintendent of the Santa Ana 
Unified School District where he was recognized for his tremendous 
leadership and innovation. Among the recognition his leadership has 
brought to local schools are several highly coveted California School 
Boards Association Golden Bell Awards for leading edge efforts to 
address the educational needs of students, the Federal Blue Ribbon 
Schools designation and California Distinguished Schools designation. 
He has also received the prestigious Marcus Foster Award from the 
Association of California School Administrators and in 1992, he was 
named California's Superintendent of the Year.
  As a San Diegan with deep roots in the public schools there, I took 
great pride in the role that Dr. Castruita played as Chair of the 
statewide effort to set standards for high school graduates in the 
state of California. This endeavor was perhaps the most important state 
education reform of the past several decades. He also served on the 
State Superintendent's Advisory Committee for implementing the Public 
School Accountability Act of 1999, a law that helped to instill 
rigorous standards into the curriculum and educational delivery system 
throughout the state.
  He also served on the Governance Task Force of the statewide 
committee to develop a Master Plan for Education, and State Reading 
First Committee. Dr. Castruita's abiding personal commitment to 
eradicating illiteracy across our community has made the San Diego 
County Office of Education a beacon in literacy programs and 
distinguished him as a prominent leader in this important Issue.
  I have had the pleasure, along with a number of state leaders 
including governors from our state and other state constitutional 
officers to utilize the San Diego County Office of Education's state-
of-the-art regional technology center that exists today because of Dr. 
Castruita's efforts. His enthusiasm and interest in cutting-edge 
technology to lift student achievement resulted in his being named one 
of 12 ``tech savvy'' superintendents in the nation by eSchool News.
  In San Diego, we are also proud of Dr. Castruita's notable commitment 
to national leadership, serving on several national boards including 
Scholarship America and the prestigious Education Research & 
Development Institute. He was nominated by the President of the United 
States and appointed by Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, and 
Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education, to serve on the President's 
Advisory for the Department of Defense Schools, which are military-
based schools overseas.
  He has also built impressive and lasting relationships in the 
community with our public schools that includes work with the Greater 
San Diego Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, San 
Diego United Way/CHAD, the San Diego YMCA, the Natural History Museum, 
Laurels for Leaders, and the California Center for the Arts.
  His work on behalf of California's children and our schools has made 
a real difference across our state, and we all owe him a great debt of 
gratitude for championing these issues. It is hard to imagine 
substantive discussions of education policy in our state without Dr. 
Castruita involved. He has provided me with tremendous guidance and 
advice on these important issues on countless occasions and his wise 
counsel will be missed. I wish both he and his family well in his 
retirement. Dr. Castruita continues a lasting and impressive legacy of 
commitment to public education within California and across the country 
as he begins other endeavors that will undoubtedly contribute to the 
well being of children and public education.
  Thank you very much Mr. Speaker for allowing me this time to honor 
such a great leader and important figure to education.

                          ____________________