[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 57 (Wednesday, April 24, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING CAROL BURRIS ON BEING NAMED HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR

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                         HON. CAROLYN McCARTHY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 24, 2013

  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Carol 
Burris on being named New York State's 2013 High School Principal of 
the Year. Principal Burris has proudly served as Rockville Centre's 
South Side High School's Principal for 13 years. She was chosen as 
Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New 
York State because of her exceptional contributions to the educational 
process and her commitment to her students and the community. It was 
because of her tireless efforts that so many were moved to submit 
letters of nomination for this award.
   Praised for her bold ideas to improve the education system, Ms. 
Burris is well known for her opposition to using standardized test 
scores as an evaluation tool for teachers and the use of tracking at 
the high school level. She believes that tracking, which separates 
students by achievement level for all classroom subjects, limits a 
student's academic potential. This belief led her to establish paths of 
more rigorous study and increased opportunity for every student at 
South Side High School. She established a mandate that all 11th graders 
complete the very challenging English class, International 
Baccalaureate Language and Literature. Her high standards for all 
students--regardless of social, economic, or racial background--
resulted in 99% of her students, including 95% of minority students, 
graduating with a Regents diploma last year. These extraordinary 
results have led to U.S. News and World Report to select South Side 
High School as the top-ranked high school on Long Island.
   Ms. Burris is known as a leader amongst her coworkers and students. 
She works with teachers to regularly to collaborate, develop new ideas 
for lesson plans, improve instruction tools, align curriculum to be 
highly effective. The impact of her leadership on her school and her 
students is evident. Please join me in honoring Carol Burris for the 
momentous achievement of becoming New York State's Principal of the 
Year.

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