[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 193 (Wednesday, December 4, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONGRATULATING JUSTIN LOPEZ-CARDOZE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 4, 2019

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in congratulating Justin Lopez-Cardoze, a 
seventh-grade life science teacher at Capital City Public Charter 
School, for being named the 2020 District of Columbia Teacher of the 
Year.
  The DC Teacher of the Year award is granted each year to a public or 
public charter school teacher who is dedicated to student growth, and 
creating connections with families and communities, and who provides 
high-quality instruction.
  Lopez-Cardoze, whose father was born in El Salvador, is the first 
Latino recipient of the DC Teacher of the Year award. He follows in the 
footsteps of the 2019 DC Teacher of the Year, Kelly Harper, who was the 
first DC teacher to become a finalist in the national competition for 
teacher of the year since 2005.
  Lopez-Cardoze is a devoted teacher. He views his work as a way to pay 
back the scholarship he won as a student, which made it possible for 
him to attend the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and become 
a teacher. The award comes with $7,500 and makes Lopez-Cardoze eligible 
for the National Teacher of the Year award. Lopez-Cardoze is still 
paying off his student loans but he has pledged to use $5,000 of his 
award, and to double that amount through fundraising, to create a 
scholarship fund to allow a student at Capital City Public Charter 
school to go to college.
  His concern for his students is unfailing. When a student with sickle 
cell anemia approached him about proposed cuts to the National 
Institutes of Health, he led his students in developing an organization 
to educate the public about diseases often found among people of color.
  In his three years at Capital City Public Charter School, in 
Northwest DC, Lopez-Cardoze has made himself an integral part of the 
community. He serves as the school's Science Department chair, seventh-
grade team lead and middle school representative on the school's Equity 
Core Committee. As a member of the Equity Core Committee, he co-creates 
diversity, equity and inclusion sessions for staff and works to create 
a more culturally competent learning environment for his students.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to 
join me in congratulating Justin Lopez-Cardoze for being named the 2020 
District of Columbia Teacher of the Year and for his commitment and 
dedication to DC students.

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