[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 56 (Wednesday, May 10, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN RECOGNITION OF MRS. LEA ANN PITCHER

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                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 9, 2006

  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mrs. Lea Ann 
Pitcher as being named one of the most `Outstanding Mathematics 
Teachers in the United States' by The Presidential Award for 
Excellence. This award was established in 1983 by an Act of Congress 
and is administered for the White House by the National Science 
Foundation. Offered every other year to high school teachers, only two 
teachers per state are bestowed this great honor. Recognizing only the 
most exceptional teachers from across the United States, this awards' 
program is designed to honor teachers for their ingenious contributions 
to the classroom and to their profession. Mrs. Pitcher personifies 
excellence both in the classroom and as a professional. ``Awardees 
serve as an example for their colleagues, inspiration to their 
communities, and leaders in the quality of mathematics and science.'' 
As a high school math teacher, Mr. Pitcher does just that.
  Mrs. Pitcher's work at Lee's Summit Senior High School is exemplary. 
She educates our children in one of the areas we need strengthening the 
most--mathematics. After a decade as a pharmacist, she left to pursue 
teaching. Her students respect and rely on her knowledge; her peers 
emulate her dedication and teaching practices of using debate and 
discussion in math; and I know that Principal Faulkenberry considers 
her to be one of the school's greatest assets. She has truly touched 
our community and changed the lives of students in Lee's Summit 
throughout her 11 years as an educator. As a longtime resident, she has 
shown her dedication to our community, her students, and education 
throughout her long career as a teacher in the Greater Kansas City 
Area, having worked at both Hickman Mills High School and Lee's Summit 
High School.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me today, May 9, 2006, on National Teacher 
Day, in thanking Mrs. Lea Ann Pitcher for her unyielding commitment to 
education, but more importantly, thank her for her significant 
contributions to the students of Lee's Summit Senior High School in 
Missouri's Fifth Congressional District. This year's theme of National 
Teacher Day is ``Great Teachers Make Great Public Schools'' and is a 
fitting description of Mrs. Pitcher's contribution to our society. 
Rarely do people touch the lives of students and communities in a way 
that will follow them forever. I want to thank her again for her 
outstanding work and her extraordinary commitment to the Lee's Summit 
students. As one former recipient of the Presidential Award exclaimed, 
``I think of this as the Nobel Prize of my profession.'' Mrs. Pitcher 
has truly attained the highest honor in her field. This accolade is 
something to celebrate because it recognizes someone to emulate. I urge 
my colleagues of the 109th Congress to please join me in congratulating 
Mrs. Lea Ann Pitcher on her well-deserved recognition.

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