[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 116 (Friday, July 29, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO DR. JOE MORTON

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 29, 2011

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the work of Alabama State 
Superintendent of Education, Dr. Joe Morton, who has been a leader in 
education for 42 years and will officially retire on August 31, 2011.
  Dr. Morton grew up in Pleasant Grove and graduated from Hueytown High 
School. He then received his B.S. degree from Auburn University in 1969 
and later his M.A. in 1973 and Ph.D. in 1974 from The University of 
Alabama.
  Upon graduation from Auburn, he began a life of dedicated service to 
the field of education. He worked his way up from a school teacher to 
the superintendent of the Sumter County Board of Education. He is 
presumed to be the youngest person in the history of the state to be a 
local superintendent of education at the age of 27.
  On July 13, 2004, he was selected by Governor Bob Riley to be the 
State Superintendent of Education. Along with a longstanding love of 
education, he has always held to the belief that Alabama students have 
the capability to compete with top students from around the world.
  In order to engage students' interest in reading, he created and co-
founded the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI). The ARI has since become 
a national model and has helped the National Assessment of Educational 
Process in 2007 achieve the largest gains recorded in Grade 4 Reading. 
In 2010, AMSTI was recognized by the Center for Excellence in Education 
as the model of laboratory education in the United States.
  Other educational programs he helped create and co-found were the 
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) and the 
Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide 
(ACCESS).
  At the request of Governor Riley, Dr. Morton also chaired the Seat 
Belt Study Commission after a tragic 2006 school bus accident in 
Huntsville. The Commission's research into school bus safety and 
seatbelts is considered to be the most extensive in the country.
  In 2009, he also launched First Choice, a plan to combat high school 
dropout rates by doubling the number of graduates. First Choice has 
already helped deliver a greater number of well prepared high school 
graduates.
  As a result of Dr. Joe Morton's achievements in education, Alabama 
had the fourth largest increase in the number of students who graduated 
from high school in the nation. His achievements also paved the way for 
Alabama to lead the nation in student enrollment gains and Advanced 
Placement exam scores.
  Above all, under Dr. Morton's leadership as Alabama's Superintendent 
of Education, the state has achieved its greatest overall educational 
rating in its history.
  On behalf of the people of Alabama--especially the thousands of 
school children who will reap a lifetime of rewards because of his 
leadership--I wish to extend congratulations to Dr. Joe Morton for a 
job well done and for his many contributions to better the education 
and the futures of many Alabamians. My colleagues in the Alabama 
delegation join me in wishing him and his family the very best as they 
start a new chapter in their lives.

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