[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 114 (Friday, August 2, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1239-E1240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN RECOGNITION OF RITA GLEASON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 2, 2013

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Rita Gleason, the Principal 
of Notre Dame High School in Belmont California, upon her retirement 
after 22 years of service to the school and to our community. During 
her tenure, Ms. Gleason has been an inspiration to 3,500 girls who have 
been educated at Notre Dame.
  I am a graduate of a Catholic girl's high school and I deeply believe 
that these institutions build character, leadership abilities and self-
esteem. Ms. Gleason shares those values and works tirelessly to ensure 
that every young woman who goes to Notre Dame achieves her fullest 
potential. Students are encouraged to become deeply involved in 
community service and Ms. Gleason models that commitment through her 
work with immigrants and the economically challenged. The young women 
of Notre Dame benefit from a rigorous curriculum sustained in part by 
the generosity of its alumni. These graduates give because Ms. Gleason 
is a continuing force in their own lives many years after they leave 
the campus.
  Rita Gleason is known as a person who listens closely to students. 
The young women of Notre Dame know that they have a confidante in Ms. 
Gleason, and a supporter who will work with them if they want to work 
through their difficult problems. At a recent conference that I helped 
to convene on the subject of gun violence within communities, experts 
noted how important it is for students to have an adult in whom they 
can confide. At Notre Dame High School, the go-to adult is Rita 
Gleason. Every parent can have confidence that she will offer wisdom, 
compassion, and a steady set of values that will empower students 
through their difficult moments.
  Great leaders have great staff and Ms. Gleason is no exception. 
Teachers want to teach at Notre Dame because they know that they will 
be supported by a professionally-trained educator. Ms. Gleason has a 
credential in K-12 and adult education, a community college credential, 
and a credential in History, English and the Humanities. She graduated 
with a BA from the College of Notre Dame and with two Master's 
degrees--one in Educational Administration and the other in Counseling. 
Her resume reads like a famous musician's--every box indicating genius 
was checked during Ms. Gleason's passionate pursuit of knowledge.
  Befitting the Principal of a private high school, Ms. Gleason has 
long been involved in the credentialing organization for private 
schools, governing councils for the schools of the Archdiocese of San 
Francisco, and has served in administrative and guidance positions at 
several Catholic schools in five states and the District of Columbia. 
In our community from 1992 to the present, she has received no less 
than seven honors or awards for community service, including the 
Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service, an award given only to 
those who go well above and beyond ordinary public service.
  Mr. Speaker, Notre Dame High School will soon be without the sight of 
Ms. Gleason's Navy Blue VW Bug in the parking lot, but what she stood 
for--Christian values, social justice, women's leadership--will live on 
in all the young women who were educated at NDHS during her tenure. 
There are some who warm a seat and call themselves a leader, but there 
are others who lead by never being in their seat. Rita Gleason is the 
leader who never sits and the listener who never hesitates to open her 
heart. Notre Dame High School will long remember Rita Gleason, 
Principal for 22 years and a leader for all time.

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