[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 104 (Thursday, June 4, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2730-S2731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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              TRIBUTE TO JEN COCO-MOLINA AND JAQUELYN LARA

 Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I would like to have printed in the 
Record an article that was published in the Miami Herald, ``These Miami 
special ed teachers brought the party to students on the last day of 
school.'' I commend Ms. Coco-Molina and Ms. Lara for their dedication 
to Florida's students, and the memories they created that will never be 
forgotten.
  The material follows:

                             [June 3, 2020]

 These Miami Special Ed Teachers Brought the Party to Students on Last 
                             Day of School

                          (By Colleen Wright)

       Special education teachers Jen Coco-Molina and Jacquelyn 
     Lara couldn't have their last day of school party at South 
     Miami Senior High as usual, so they brought the party to 
     their students.
       They pulled up in front of Cristin Baez-Alvarez's apartment 
     building blasting Cristin's favorite song. From the ``mobile 
     party'' in Coco-Molina's trunk, the teachers pulled out a 
     goody bag just for 15-year-old Cristin: M&Ms, a daisy pen, a 
     Disney Puppy Dog Pals coloring book and a smile balloon on a 
     stick.
       ``It's a happy balloon, like you, always smiling,'' said 
     Lara.
       Cristin took the goody bag and a bite out of a red frosted 
     Publix cupcake. She's nonverbal, but her unflinching 
     frosting-stained smile said it all. And what she couldn't 
     express, her mother said in Spanish.
       ``She's emotional. She's afraid that when she goes back 
     upstairs, she'll start crying,'' mom Cristina Baez told Lara.
       Like Coco-Molina and Lara, teachers everywhere have been 
     adapting since the coronavirus pandemic catapulted them into 
     online distance learning March 13. Wednesday was 
     unceremoniously the last day of school for Miami-Dade County 
     Public Schools.
       But the pair couldn't let the school year end like this. 
     Coco-Molina teaches math and Lara teaches English and science 
     to 11 ninth- and tenth-graders with varying disabilities. All 
     but one of the students they visited Wednesday will have a 
     different pair of teachers next year.
       ``We're their second moms,'' said Coco-Molina. ``We're not 
     just their teachers.''
       Coco-Molina's trunk was draped with a green plastic 
     tablecloth. There were turquoise and pink paper lanterns, 
     shiny streamers, and a letter board read ``Enjoy your 
     summer.'' Next to the goody bags were cupcakes for the 
     students, mini cupcakes for their families.


                        Teachers get a surprise

       Max Ortiz waited on his front porch for his teachers with a 
     surprise of his own. His

[[Page S2731]]

     mother made summer-themed gift bags for each teacher with 
     beach bags, metal tumblers and makeup wipes.
       And he had assignment packets to turn in to each teacher.
       The 16-year-old dashed up to the car. ``Hi miss! How you 
     doing?'' he said as he took a vanilla cupcake. ``I've been 
     good, miss. It's been a while.''
       ``You have been an ideal student,'' Lara said through 
     tears. ``I wish I could have you as a student for the rest of 
     your life.''
       Coco-Molina couldn't hold back, either. ``He came to us as 
     a boy, and now he's a freaking man,'' she said. ``He always 
     needed our approval and now he's so independent.''

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