[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 188 (Thursday, November 16, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF AN ACHIEVABLE DREAM

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 16, 2017

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor An Achievable 
Dream, which will be commemorating its 25th anniversary this weekend.
  An Achievable Dream was founded by the late Walter Segaloff, a local 
community leader, businessman, and humanitarian. His ambitious public-
private educational partnership in Newport News, Virginia started small 
but has grown exponentially in the last 25 years.
  When An Achievable Dream first opened its doors in 1992, it was a 
small summer and after-school tennis and tutoring program for 95 fourth 
graders. A year later, the program more than doubled the number of 
students it served to 200 rising fourth and fifth graders. In 1994, An 
Achievable Dream expanded even further by becoming a full-time, 
extended day school for 400 children in grades three through five, and 
in 1994 they started serving grades six through eight at Dunbar Erwin 
Middle School. Five years later, in 2000, An Achievable Dream Academy 
was founded as a year-round, full time elementary school and by 2007 
they opened a separate, full-time middle and high school. Since those 
early years, An Achievable Dream has grown beyond Newport News and now 
has partnerships with Virginia Beach City Public Schools and Heinrico 
County Public Schools.
  The motto of An Achievable Dream is ``Teaching Kids Winning Ways.'' 
The Achievable Dream program is structured to give young people the 
skills needed to succeed in life. Those skills are taught at An 
Achievable Dream on the tennis court, in the classroom, on field trips, 
and in sharing experiences with successful and caring adults in the 
community.
  One of the things that makes An Achievable Dream so impactful on the 
lives of the young people it serves is An Achievable Dream's ability to 
show the boundless opportunities available if you just make the right 
choices. The staff, supporters and sponsors at An Achievable Dream have 
worked over the last 25 years to ensure that their students graduate on 
time and have an opportunity to go to college.
  An Achievable Dream has not achieved all of this on its own. Walter 
Segaloff understood that it took every facet of the community--
including school leaders, public officials, law enforcement, the 
military, and businesses--to work together toward the common goal of 
making better the lives and educational outcomes of as many young 
persons as possible. I would like to thank each of the community 
organizations and businesses for stepping up and helping make An 
Achievable Dream the success that it is today. I would also like to 
thank our military for volunteering regularly with these students for 
An Achievable Dream's character development program. And of course, I 
want to thank Kathy Edwards, President and CEO of An Achievable Dream, 
and all the faculty and staff who have dedicated their careers to these 
young people.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have been involved with An Achievable 
Dream as a supporter since its beginning. As our community gathers to 
celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the An Achievable Dream at the annual 
Tennis Ball gala this weekend, I look forward to the continued success 
of An Achievable Dream. I would like to congratulate the staff, 
supporters and sponsors at An Achievable Dream on a quarter century of 
success and I look forward to witnessing their many continued successes 
in the future.

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