[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING VINCENT D. MURRAY ON RECEIVING THE HAROLD W. McGRAW, JR. 
                           PRIZE IN EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 29, 2006

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 
Vincent D. Murray, who will receive the prestigious Harold W. McGraw, 
Jr. Prize in Education. Mr. Murray has been the principal of Henry W. 
Grady High School in Atlanta, Georgia since 1991.
  Mr. Murray has been chosen for the prestigious 19th annual award for 
his leadership in transforming his inner-city public school into a 
higher achieving institution in which graduation and college-going 
rates consistently have risen above the district and state averages.
  Sixty-six percent of Grady High students are African American and 44 
percent qualify for free or reduced price lunch. When Murray joined 
Grady High, more than a third of all freshmen were held back and 
repeated their freshmen year. The student body's passing rate on the 
Georgia graduation test was below the statewide average.
  Mr. Murray has been consistent in his efforts and focused on 
innovative reform. The result is that today, four out of every five 
graduates go directly on to college or university, including Ivy League 
institutions. Average scores on the graduation test, SAT and Advanced 
Placement exams exceed district, state and national averages. 
Graduation rates have risen 38 percentage points for African-American 
students (to 84 percent), 26 points for economically disadvantaged 
students (to 86 percent) and 25 points for white students (to 97 
percent). As a result of Murray's success in transforming Grady High, 
the U.S. Department of Education recognized him in 2000 with the 
Department's Title I Distinguished School Award. In 2006, the governor 
of Georgia named him a High Performance Principal, a top honor in the 
state.
  Mr. Murray has a bachelor of arts degree in history and English from 
Morehouse College, a master of arts degree in early childhood education 
from the University of Georgia, and a doctorate in psychology/learning 
disabilities from Boston University. He has pursued post-doctoral 
studies at Clark-Atlanta University and Georgia State University.
  I salute Mr. Vincent D. Murray for his outstanding contributions to 
education. He has dedicated himself to improving education in this 
country and his accomplishments continue to make a difference.

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