[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 87 (Thursday, June 10, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING PHYLLIS WEBER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 10, 2010

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Phyllis 
Weber upon her retirement as the Principal of El Portal School and 
Yosemite Park High School. After thirty-two years in education, Ms. 
Weber will be honored at a retirement party in El Portal, California on 
Thursday, June 10, 2010.
  Ms. Weber received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the 
University of Dayton in Ohio and her Master of Arts degree in 
environmental and outdoor education from San Francisco State 
University. After three years as an environmental investigator for the 
Environmental Protection Agency, she became an instructor for the 
Yosemite Institute starting in January 1976. The Yosemite Institute is 
one of the nation's leading environmental education organizations 
dedicated to bringing school age children to Yosemite where they have 
an opportunity to experience and learn about the majestic place. Ms. 
Weber became known as a dynamic naturalist and teacher who had an 
amazing ability to connect with her students, a trait that carried 
forward throughout her career. At the Yosemite Institute she also met 
Mr. Art Baggett, a fellow instructor, and now her husband of more than 
thirty years.
  In 1978, Ms. Weber began teaching first, second and third grades at 
El Portal Elementary School. She has also taught courses for a 
wilderness program for the Saratoga/Los Gatos High School District, 
winter ecology for Antioch College, mountain ecology for the University 
of California at Santa Cruz, Yosemite Natural History for the College 
of Marin and various college courses for the Yosemite Institute.
  As the principal of Yosemite National Park's El Portal School and 
Yosemite Park High School since 2000, Ms. Weber has gracefully inspired 
teachers, staff and students to perform at high levels, as confirmed 
annually by the high test scores at the El Portal School. She has an 
uncanny ability to see the potential in her students and to draw them 
out in a way that helps them fulfill their potential. She has also 
developed a very positive reputation for her community through her 
school's ability to communicate with, and educate, Spanish-speaking 
students while making them feel welcome and part of the community.
  Ms. Weber's hallmark has been her enthusiasm to encourage new and 
innovative programs proposed by her teachers, students and parents and 
to actively seek creative ways to fund these programs. She has become a 
master at working within school district budgets and has diligently 
travelled with the district office to Mariposa, Sacramento and 
Washington, D.C. to support her budget, as well as working closely with 
parents and the local community on fundraising and support.
  In addition to her professional endeavors, Ms. Weber has been very 
involved in public service and her family has been an integral part of 
the Yosemite community for several generations. As part of her public 
service, Ms. Weber was elected to the Board of Trustees for the 
Yosemite Natural History Association in November 1979 and she began her 
service on January 26, 1980. For the past thirty years she has served 
on the Board for the Yosemite Natural History Association, the Yosemite 
Association and now the Yosemite Conservancy, where she is currently 
the chair of the education and programs committee. In this role, Ms. 
Weber and her family share their deep passion for Yosemite and Mariposa 
County.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate Principal 
Phyllis Weber upon her retirement from El Portal School and Yosemite 
Park High School. I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing Ms. 
Weber many years of continued success.

                          ____________________