[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1768]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING WALTER PAYTON COLLEGE PREP OF CHICAGO ON RECEIVING THE 
   INTEL SCHOOL OF DISTINCTION TOP AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN MATH AND 
                                SCIENCE

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 28, 2010

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, today I wish to congratulate 
Walter Payton College Prep from Chicago on its success wtihin the Intel 
Schools of Distinction competition. Walter Payton prevailed over 149 
other schools to win both the School of Distinction for Mathematics 
Excellence as well as the overall competition grand prize, the Star 
Innovator Award. Together, these two awards convey over $175,000 in 
monetary grants as well as materials--including hardware and software, 
professional development materials, and curriculum resources. I 
celebrate the hard work of the students and faculty of the school and 
applaud their success.
  Walter Payton College Prep High School is a magnet school whose 
curriculum emphasizes mathematics, science and world languages. The 
Intel award highlighted Walter Payton's mathematics program. 
Impressively, over a quarter of the students at Walter Payton take five 
or more math courses before graduation. In addition to this rigorous 
set of core classes, many of the students at Walter Payton fill their 
electives with advanced placement statistics and/or university-level 
math courses. Over 99 percent of the student population scores as 
``Meeting or Exceeding'' state math standards on the Prairie State 
Achievement Examination. Walter Payton also has an impressive 98 
percent graduation rate and an outstanding record of students who both 
qualify for advanced placement courses and pass advanced placement 
tests.
  Through its focus on math and science, Walter Payton College Prep is 
helping America become more competitive globally. Multiple reports and 
experts have sounded the alarm that our nation must quickly accelerate 
and enhance its training of students in the areas of science, 
technology, engineering, and math in order to meet the growing demand 
for U.S. workers with these skills and to improve our ability to 
compete in a global economy. Further, these experts agree that we need 
to broaden the participation of individuals who are underrepresented in 
these fields, such as racial/ethnic minorities and women. According to 
the Census Bureau, 39 percent of the population under the age of 18 is 
a racial or ethnic minority. However, in 2003, only 4.4 percent of U.S. 
science and engineering jobs were held by African Americans and only 
3.4 percent by Hispanics. In 2008, the American Community Survey 
reported that 10.3% of the total U.S. population were in the 
professional, scientific, management and administrative services 
industry; however only 7.7% of Cambodians, 6.8% of Hmongs, and 5.2% of 
Laotians actually held these types of jobs. Given that over half of the 
students attending Walter Payton represent racial/ethnic minorities, 
the school is helping decrease this gap in science and math fields. 
State, local and federal officials must do more to offer the high-
caliber programming offered at Walter Payton to all students so that we 
can strengthen our citizens and our nation.
  As we start the 2010-2011 school year, I am pleased to congratulate 
Walter Payton College Prep in the Seventh Congressional District of 
Illinois for its achievements and commitment to the mathematics and 
science fields. Well done!

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