[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 20, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E788]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING MR. SEAN McCOMB

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 20, 2014

  Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise 
before you today to congratulate Baltimore resident and Second District 
constituent Sean McComb for being chosen as the 2014 National Teacher 
of the Year. Just 30 years old and with only eight years of experience, 
Mr. McComb is one of the youngest teachers ever to be selected for this 
incredible honor.
  The National Teacher of the Year is chosen from among the State 
Teachers of the Year by a national selection committee representing the 
major national education organizations organized by the Council of 
Chief State School Officers. It is one of the highest honors which an 
educator can receive and, as such, Mr. McComb will travel around the 
country and represent his colleagues in the teaching profession for the 
next year. He was chosen among four finalists after earning the top 
spot in Baltimore County and, then, Maryland.
  An English teacher at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, 
Mr. McComb inspires his students to turn their challenges into 
opportunities for excellence, drawing on his own experiences as a 
student who struggled in school and at home.
  Mr. McComb's colleagues describe him as deeply compassionate. He 
describes his teaching philosophy as ``kids before content and love 
before all.'' He likes to say that he does not teach English, but 
rather teaches students English.
  Mr. McComb has been instrumental in encouraging middle-achieving 
students to improve their work habits and academic skills as the 
coordinator of the school's Advancement Via Individual Determination 
(AVID) program. Remarkably, 98 percent of AVID students in the last two 
of Patapsco's graduating classes were admitted to 4-year colleges. The 
program helped Patapsco, for the first time in its 50-year history, 
receive recognition as a top high school from The Washington Post and 
US. News and World Report. McComb also teaches the value of service, 
working on projects with students that help feed the hungry in the 
community.
  Mr. Speaker, education is about more than textbooks and syllabuses. 
The best teachers give us much more--like inspiration, confidence, and 
compassion. Teachers like Mr. McComb touch the lives of young people 
and provide them with the knowledge and support they need to become 
future leaders. I ask you to join me in congratulating Mr. Sean McComb 
on this remarkable achievement and wish him many more years of success.

                          ____________________