[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 162 (Wednesday, October 24, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO RON PRESCOTT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DIANE E. WATSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 24, 2007

  Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, it was with great sorrow that I learned of 
the loss of my dear friend and colleague who was a real trailblazer in 
the field of education in Los Angeles. I am speaking of Mr. Ron 
Prescott, retired Deputy Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified 
School District.
  Ron was more than a trailblazer, he was a man with a vision for all 
students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Although he had 
retired from everyday active duty in the day to day running of the 
Nation's second largest school district, he felt strongly about the 
importance of getting appropriate funding for students who had to be 
removed from regular schools that operated year round due to 
overcrowding.
  Ron was an imposing figure during his tenure with the school district 
and later on, as a retiree, when he launched a second career as an 
influential and respected education lobbyist.
  One of his most important achievements as a lobbyist was leading a 
way for new dollars to pay for integration programs. His efforts led to 
funding that became the genesis of L.A. Unified's popular program that 
created magnet schools to promote voluntary integration.
  As Ron stepped into the role of the first teacher hired for a 1960's 
program that paired white and minority students in district schools, he 
also found time to found the District's Office of Multicultural 
Education. He was a front-runner in leading early voluntary integration 
efforts before the era of court ordered forced busing.
  Ron's vision and focus on the education of students in the Los 
Angeles Unified District will be sorely missed. He stands as an icon of 
effective, ethical advocacy for the rights of students.
  The students of Los Angeles, colleagues and friends, all mourn the 
loss of Ron Prescott. I extend my most heartfelt condolences to his 
family, his students, his many close friends in the Los Angeles Unified 
District, and here on Capitol Hill.

                          ____________________