[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 110 (Friday, July 1, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E685-E686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE EXEMPLARY CONTRIBUTIONS OF JON J.P. FERNANDEZ TO THE 
            COMMUNITY OF GUAM AS SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. MICHAEL F.Q. SAN NICOLAS

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, July 1, 2022

  Mr. SAN NICOLAS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize an 
exemplary leader and public servant, Mr. Jon J.P. Fernandez, and 
congratulate him for over a decade of service to the People of Guam as 
Superintendent of Education. I would like to further commend him for 
his distinguished advocacy, commitment to community, and investment in 
the future of our island, region, nation, and world as demonstrated 
throughout his tenure at the helm of the Guam Department of Education 
(GDOE).
  In navigating a unique path to public service, Superintendent 
Fernandez first earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the 
University of Arkansas in 1995. He then went on to obtain his master's 
in public policy from Harvard University and, by 2005, gained a Juris 
Doctor from Georgetown University. Building the foundations for an 
accomplished career, Superintendent Fernandez served as a Senior 
Analyst in Strategic Consulting for CB Richard Ellis/Torto Wheaton 
Research and later served in our Nation's capital as both a policy 
director for D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams and Managing Director for 
the Federal City Council.
  Upon returning home to lead GDOE's 41 schools, approximately 28,000 
schoolchildren, and 3,800 employees while managing hundreds of millions 
of dollars in annual local and federal funding, Superintendent 
Fernandez charted a course renewed in purpose and charged with 
progress. Under his leadership, GDOE increased its graduation rate to a 
record-high 89 percent in 2021, became the

[[Page E686]]

first WASC school district to gain accreditation for all its schools, 
achieved nine consecutive clean financial and compliance audits, 
removed four of its seven special compliance conditions imposed by the 
USDOE, founded its first K-5 CHamoru language immersion program, 
created vital credit recovery programs for Guam's two success 
academies, established a new Tiyan High School, expanded Okkodo High 
School, and renovated Untalan Middle School. Outside of improved 
standards and instruction, he has also spearheaded the integration of 
technology and STEM in the classroom, expansion of programs that 
promote college and career readiness, and a bolstered school-based 
behavioral health support system while securing accolades such as two 
MagPro Best Government Large Agency of the Year awards, three Pika's 
Best Government Agency of the Year awards, and the 2019 Professor John 
M. Phillips Excellence in Government Accountability Award. Moreover, 
amid the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, Superintendent Fernandez 
catalyzed comprehensive community support to include launching school 
meal and community feeding sites, implementing distance learning, 
ensuring safe practices and protocols in all schools, mobilizing 
vaccination clinics for employees and students, and pushing for 
students to return to the classroom.
  Beyond these organizational triumphs, Superintendent Fernandez 
further realized historic personal achievements. In addition to holding 
the titles as both GDOE's longest-serving superintendent since World 
War II and the nation's longest-tenured Chief State School Officer, he 
is the first superintendent from Guam to serve as Commissioner for the 
Accrediting Commission for Schools (WASC) and be elected to the Board 
of Directors of the Council of Chief State School Officers.
  Madam Speaker, I rise on behalf of the People of Guam, offering my 
greatest appreciation to Superintendent Jon J. P. Fernandez for over 
ten years of invaluable service to generations of students and their 
families. His resolve to stand up quality education and youth support 
systems, advance departmental and interagency collaborations, and 
cultivate meaningful connections at the intersections of education, 
community, and civic involvement has transformed the foothold of our 
collective progress and continues to inspire many throughout our 
island, and I wish him and his family the best during the next chapter 
of their lives.

                          ____________________