[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 76 (Thursday, May 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING PHILLIPS PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ON ITS 50TH 
                              ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2018

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate PHILLIPS 
Programs for Children and Families on its 50th Anniversary. I also want 
to recognize the outstanding faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees for 
the extraordinary impact they have had on the education and lives of 
thousands of youth in the communities surrounding our Nation's Capital.
   The growth of PHILLIPS Programs from their humble beginnings is 
astonishing. Years before the first federal laws were enacted to 
require all public schools to provide a free and appropriate education 
for all students regardless of disabilities, in 1967 PHILLIPS began in 
a two-bedroom bungalow in McLean teaching four students. The PHILLIPS 
Programs now include special education schools on four campuses, a 
vibrant home-based support program (Family Partners), and its newest 
career and technical education initiative, Career Partners, which 
launched in 2016. While all of these programs teach important job 
skills, they also teach employability skills (general skills in the 
areas of applied knowledge, effective relationships, and workplace 
skills) that are necessary for success in the labor market at all 
employment levels and in all sectors. In tandem with academic and 
technical skills, employability skills are crucial to career readiness.
   At PHILLIPS Programs, the core of their philosophy and practice is 
the ethos that with the right support and commitment, all of its 
students will reach their full potential. PHILLIPS offers special 
education day school programs for students in elementary through high 
school in nationally acclaimed facilities for students for whom public 
or other specialized schools were not successful.
   PHILLIPS serves a diverse group of youth from Virginia, Maryland, 
and Washington, D.C. The lives of the youth served by PHILLIPS have 
been affected by a variety of personal and neurodevelopmental 
circumstances, so PHILLIPS staff tailor their approach to each unique 
individual. PHILLIPS provides these youths a fresh start. They address 
each student's needs honestly with acceptance, respect, compassion, and 
a creative plan to make a better tomorrow. PHILLIPS focuses on the 
students' behavioral health needs, their emotional needs, communication 
needs, and beyond that their family and community needs. PHILLIPS 
builds a program around each child, rather than fitting that child into 
a particular program.
   Mr. Speaker, for five decades PHILLIPS Programs have provided youth 
and families in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area with the 
opportunity to achieve their dreams through education, combined with a 
full menu of support services. PHILLIPS is continuing its tradition of 
support for youth with a focus on students transitioning from school to 
work through the expansion of career and technical education and 
workforce development, serving those others cannot. On behalf of the 
citizens of the 11th Congressional District, I congratulate each and 
every member of the PHILLIPS community on this momentous anniversary 
and I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing them continued success 
and growth.

                          ____________________