[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 156 (Thursday, December 2, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING PAUL SCHRADE

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. PATRICK J. KENNEDY

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 2, 2010

  Mr. KENNEDY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Paul Schrade on 
the occasion of the dedication of a library in his honor at the Robert 
F. Kennedy Schools Complex in Los Angeles, California on September 13, 
2010. Named after U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, my uncle, the schools 
are devoted to social justice. Paul was one of the five people wounded 
the night Senator Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel, 
where the Schools Complex is located.
  Paul, a close friend and campaign staffer, was right behind Senator 
Kennedy when shots rang out shortly after RFK's victory speech 
following the California Democratic presidential primary on June 5, 
1968.
  The 24-acre, $578 million schools complex on Wilshire Boulevard 
consists of six different schools for grades kindergarten to 12, with 
more than 4,000 students, the vast majority of them from Latino and 
low-income neighborhoods. Paul, 85, was a driving force behind the 
project, which was fraught with obstacles from the start, including 
Donald Trump's plans to build five towers at the site, one of them 125 
stories tall. Later, Wal-Mart wanted to put a store there.
  Senator Kennedy's commitment to social justice is evident throughout 
the campus with murals, quotations and similar exhibits.
  Originally designed as a large, comprehensive K-12 school that would 
house more than 2,400 students, the school district determined in 2008 
that the facility would host wall-to-wall pilot schools, which opened 
this fall. Pilot schools are innovative small schools that have 
charter-like autonomy over their budget, curriculum and assessment, 
governance, schedule and staffing, but are part of the public school 
system.
  Among the new school's many features is a 500-seat auditorium and 
cafe at the site of the old Coconut Grove nightclub, built adjacent to 
the hotel in the 1920s, where LA's rich and famous would go to party. 
Howard Hughes was a regular there and several Academy Awards events 
were held there during the 1930s.
  Groundbreaking on the new schools took place four years ago.
  Paul has been instrumental in the improvement of public education in 
Los Angeles. His lifelong mission, since RFK's death, has been to 
perpetuate the best of what Kennedy stood for. I wish Paul all the best 
as he continues his important work on behalf of young people. He will 
continue to carry my own admiration, and that of all who have had the 
privilege to work with him.

                          ____________________