[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 29, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E609-E610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF SAN MATEO PARK ELEMENTARY 
                                 SCHOOL

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 29, 2015

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the 90th anniversary of San 
Mateo Park Elementary School, the oldest continuing elementary school 
in the San Mateo-Foster City School District.
  Park School has educated over 20,000 students and serves a diverse 
student body. The school community can only be characterized as open, 
enriching and striving for excellence. The comprehensive curriculum 
aims at supporting each student to reach his or her fullest potential.

[[Page E610]]

  All students, those with exceptional abilities to those with 
exceptional needs, are prepared to become responsible, ethical citizens 
and leaders of the future. They are taught to develop critical and 
creative thinking, problem solving and good communication in a safe 
environment that encourages risk taking and self-reliance.
  To create such an environment, Park School relies on very talented 
and dedicated teachers and staff. Teachers are fully credentialed and 
many of them bring more than 10 years of experience to the classroom. 
Some of them hold advanced degrees in music, special education, 
administration or counseling. They speak multiple languages and have 
interests ranging from scuba diving to gardening. Staff members are 
trained in CELDT, Early Literacy Training, NOYCE training, Math Lesson 
Study and Art. Put succinctly, the staff is as diverse and interesting 
as the student body, a perfect dynamic to build an environment that 
fosters a love of lifelong learning and a deep sense of community.
  Park School has led the school district in initiatives that support 
literary skills for below-level readers through its Panther Reading 
program. The program was created by teachers and parents in 2013. It 
was so successful that the district quickly embraced it and rolled it 
out to other schools.
  Park School had modest beginnings. It started out as a firehouse on 
the corner of Clark Drive and Crescent Avenue that was remodeled into a 
two-room school in 1925. The small school soon couldn't meet demands 
and a new school with five classrooms and an auditorium was built and 
opened for 150 students in April 1929. Within a year, a cafeteria was 
added, a playground installed, a library organized and more land was 
purchased for additional expansion. In 1966, plans were made for a new 
school to be built on Clark and Crescent, the location where Park 
School remains to this day. The new school had a pod arrangement with 
the library in the center and rooms for individual, group and total 
class instruction around it. It opened in 1969. Everyone at Park School 
will tell you that change is constant. Over the years, a computer lab, 
a speech therapy room and a school child care were added. A large group 
instruction building opened in 1999 offering students a place for 
performing arts, physical education and leadership skills. The physical 
landscape of Park School continues to change and adapt, always keeping 
a focus on providing the most excellent education opportunities for the 
students.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the House of Representatives rise with me to 
recognize the great and lasting contributions that a small elementary 
school in San Mateo, California has made to the community. Park School 
has given thousands of children the foundation for successful careers 
and lives as responsible and productive citizens. Park School is a 
shining example of what a school can be.

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