[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 117 (Tuesday, September 19, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO SAMUEL GOMPERS HIGH SCHOOL

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                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 19, 2006

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to pay tribute to Samuel Gompers High School as it celebrates its 
seventieth anniversary of service in the South Bronx. The first New 
York School designed to serve as a vocational high school, Samuel 
Gompers is a trailblazing institution that I am proud to represent in 
Congress.
  Gompers opened its doors on September 12, 1935 and immediately began 
to make valuable contributions to the nation. After training machinists 
and welders during World War II, Gompers became one of the first high 
schools to adopt a technical program and to receive accreditation from 
the Middle States Atlantic School Association.
  As the world evolves, Gompers adjusts its curriculum accordingly, 
ensuring its students are always a step ahead of rapid advances in 
technology. Majors such as Computer Pre-Engineering with Cisco 
Certification, Desktop Publishing, Computer Aided Design, Copier 
Repair, and Electronic Technician with A+ Certification guarantee that 
the young men and women of Samuel Gompers will posses the skills 
necessary to solve the complex technological problems of the 21st 
century.
  The pursuit of excellence shared by the faculty and students of this 
institution creates an atmosphere that is ripe for achievement. 
Accordingly, the Gompers students have won numerous awards and 
competitions, including second place in the New York City All Academy 
Competition, third place in the New York/New Jersey Regional Botball 
tournament, and first place in the 2005 high school division of the USA 
Memory Championship. In addition, the school has graduated numerous 
students who have gone on to have very successful careers. Some of its 
more well known alumni include General Robert White, who piloted the X-
15, the nation's first rocket aircraft; Damien Radcliffe, of the movie 
Glory Road; and former Gompers music teacher Alexander Altieri, who 
performed with legends such as Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri.
  Mr. Speaker, while I am truly impressed by the academic achievements 
of Gompers, it is the school's commitment to serving the community that 
makes me most proud. Currently, the school tutors students from 
neighborhood primary schools, holds food drives for the needy, and 
plants trees in an effort to beautify the South Bronx. In past years, 
the school sponsored a shared instruction program for students who 
attended high schools without trade programs.
  ``Through a depression and two wars, Samuel Gompers High school in 
the South Bronx has been supplying skilled craftsmen for the nation's 
industries,'' said a New York Post article in January of 1960. 
Fortunately, forty-six years and three wars later, Gompers continues to 
provide state of the art vocational and technical training in today's 
highly technological world.
  Mr. Speaker. for its commitment to excellence and tireless efforts to 
empower those who have the least among us, I ask that my colleagues 
join me in paying tribute to Samuel Gompers High School on the occasion 
of its seventieth anniversary.

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