[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 132 (Tuesday, December 5, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONGRATULATIONS TO LUCRETIA JACKSON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 5, 2006

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 
Lucretia Jackson of Alexandria, Virginia, on being awarded the 
Washington Post's Distinguished Education Leader Award for 2006.
  As principal of Maury Elementary School in Alexandria, Ms. Jackson 
has led the school's dramatic turnaround. In the four years since Maury 
was ``accredited with warning'' in four content areas, Ms. Jackson has 
worked tirelessly to improve all aspects of school life. Since joining 
the school in 2004, she has spent endless hours recruiting a ``dream 
team'' of teachers for the school, revamping the entire licensed and 
support staff with dedicated and inspiring new staff who were ready to 
work hard and turn the school around.
  Standards of Learning test scores at Maury have improved drastically 
due to Ms. Jackson's work. Every student at Maury passed the science 
SOL in 2006, compared to only fifteen percent in 2003. Similar 
improvements have been seen in math and reading SOL scores: Ninety-
three percent of students passed their reading SOLs compared to only 
forty-five percent in 2003, and eighty-three percent passed the math 
portion compared to only thirty-eight in 2003. Ms. Jackson encouraged 
teachers to work closely with students to improve these scores, even 
instituting a ``Secret SOL Supporters'' program to help encourage 
students through difficult study periods with notes and gifts hidden at 
students' desks.
  Maury Elementary is now a model example for underperforming schools 
thanks to the hard work of Ms. Jackson and her staff. Despite an early 
drop in enrollment after the poor test scores of 2003, enrollment has 
risen right along side test scores at Maury. I am sure that under 
Lucretia Jackson's leadership, the school will continue to see immense 
improvements in the years to come. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating Ms. Jackson on this award and her tremendous success.

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