[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 94 (Thursday, June 7, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           PAYING TRIBUTE TO MARTHA PEEK UPON HER RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRADLEY BYRNE

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 7, 2018

  Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Martha Lyon Peek 
upon her retirement as the Superintendent of the Mobile County Public 
School System.
  Martha Peek, a native of Bayou La Batre, Alabama, has worked in the 
Mobile County School System for over forty years. Throughout her four 
decades, she has served as a teacher, principal, assistant 
superintendent, and deputy superintendent. Notably, she was the first 
female superintendent to serve in the 180-year history of the Mobile 
County Public School System.
  Her career in education follows behind a line of her family members 
who have been continuously serving in the Mobile County School System 
since 1908. She represents the third generation in her family to work 
in education, and her career carried on an important family tradition.
  Martha Peek was formally named Superintendent in July 2012 after 
serving as Deputy Superintendent since 2008. Prior to that, she was 
Assistant Superintendent for Academic Affairs, Executive Director of 
School Improvement and Accountability, and Principal at Dixon 
Elementary School. Her career in education started in 1972 as an 
elementary teacher at Alba School before she went on to work at 
Fonvielle Elementary School and Brookley Elementary School.
  During her tenure, Martha Peek oversaw the largest school system in 
the State of Alabama with over 56,000 students. She successfully 
changed the perception of Mobile schools, improved test scores, and 
increased the graduation rate. She should also take great pride in the 
strides she made in establishing signature academies to help connect 
students with the skills they need to thrive in the local workforce.
  Beyond her work in the school system, she is an involved community 
and civic member. She serves as a board member for the United Way of 
Southwest Alabama and Junior Achievement of Mobile and as a 
representative on the American Heart Association's National 
Superintendent Roundtable. Additionally, she is a member of the 
Leadership Alabama Class XXVI. In 2015, AL.com recognized her as one of 
the Women Who Shape the State of Alabama.
  On behalf of Alabama's First Congressional District and the countless 
students she impacted throughout her remarkable career, I wish Martha 
Peek, and her husband, Tyler, all the best upon her retirement. Her 
legacy will live on in the Mobile County Public School System for years 
to come.

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