[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 135 (Friday, August 12, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E842]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING LATISHA RUDD BOOTHE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 12, 2022

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
tenacious and self-motivated leader, Latisha Rudd Boothe.
  Latisha Rudd Boothe, born LaTisha Lasha Rudd, on May 30, 1977, in 
Batesville, Mississippi, to Mr. Clarence Leon Rudd, Jr. and Mrs. Mary 
Frances Rudd.
  She is the wife of Leonard Boothe; mother of Tyler Douglass Rudd and 
Kyla Maree Rudd; stepmother to Anderson Boothe and Christopher Boothe; 
sister of Darryl Leon Rudd, Dwayne Dupree Rudd and the late Derrick 
Demoyne Rudd; and the granddaughter of the late Mr. Clarence Rudd, Sr. 
and Mrs. Betty Jean Rudd, and the late Mr. Frank Douglass Oliver and 
Mrs. Marie Towns Oliver.
  Latisha attended grade school in the South Panola School District, 
where she graduated in May 1996. She then attended Northwest 
Mississippi Community College in Senatobia, MS, where she received an 
Associate of Arts Degree. She graduated with honors (Phi Theta Kappa) 
in May 1998. Next, Latisha attended Mississippi State University in 
Mississippi State, MS, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. 
She graduated with honors (Magna Cum Laude) in May 2000. She received 
her Master of Education degree from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, 
AZ, where she graduated with honors in October 2010. Latisha is also 
overwhelmingly thankful that she was not born in a time in which she 
was privy to segregation and the harsh realities of poverty and extreme 
racial tensions as her parents and grandparents were. The stories were 
so powerful and impactful to Latisha that she and her grandmother, 
Marie Towns Oliver, decided to write a biography entitled, 83 Years in 
the South, which is a compilation of her grandmother's historv and 
experiences living in Mississippi. Once Latisha graduated from 
Mississippi State University, she moved to North Hollywood, CA, where 
she was hired as an Extra on the television sitcom, My Wife and Kids. 
Although the role of an Extra did not afford her the airtime in which 
she desired, she had the privilege to meet and consistently share the 
same spaces with well-known entertainers and actors.
  In 2002, Latisha was sitting in her living room, in herapartment in 
North Hollywood, when she began to think of home and of moving back 
home, so that she could have a consistent hand in raising her son, as 
he was still living in Mississippi with her mother. After months of 
pondering the move, she made the decision to return to Mississippi. It 
seemed as if it was instantaneous that her mother began to have on-
going conversations with Latisha about securing a job in the field of 
education. She would also remind Latisha of how she believes that 
Latisha is meant to be a teacher. Latisha's mother's words eventuallv 
sparked a fire inside of Latisha, and in 2003, Latisha applied for and 
was given the opportunity to serve as Biology teacher in the North 
Panola School District in Sardis, MS, where 99 percent of her students 
were African American and over 85 percent of them were poverty 
stricken. Due to Latisha's unique teaching styles and unorthodox 
teaching methods, her students scored amongst the highest, annually, on 
the Biology state test. Something that had never been accomplished 
before in this school district. Indeed, Latisha's mother was right; 
teaching was Latisha's calling and career niche.
  In 2010, Latisha transitioned to the Quitman County School District 
in Marks, MS, where she served as Special Education Itinerant/Inclusion 
teacher until 2016, where she began her tenure as the school district's 
Special Education Director. Working with students with disabilities has 
proven to be a humbling yet meaningful experience for Latisha. Her 
plans to continue to ensure that students with disabilities have a fair 
chance at meeting their goals in life is one of Latisha's career 
commitments. In 2018, Quitman County School District ranked No. 3 in 
the State of Mississippi for producing the highest number of students 
with disabilities to graduate with a Traditional High School Diploma. 
This is quite an accomplishment and one of the first of its kind for 
this school district.
  In 2018, Latisha also became one of the eight Mediators and IEP 
Facilitators for the state of Mississippi, a position in which she 
presently holds. In this position, she is afforded the opportunity to 
work with school districts, parents, and students with disabilities 
across the state of Mississippi in increasing their knowledge of 
Special Education.
  Longing to become a part of a society much larger than herself in 
which she could work with other likeminded individuals in an effort to 
continue to make positive differences in the lives of others, was an 
opportunity in which Latisha searched far and wide. Then in 2007, she 
found just that. Latisha discovered an organization whose mission and 
purpose matched her very own, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
  Latisha Rudd Boothe may not have all of the accolades as many others; 
she may not have the acronyms in the front and in the back of her name; 
however, she is very proud of her past and her present, and she is 
excitedly looking forward to her future. She has made and is continuing 
to make positive and life changing differences in the lives of many, 
and in the words of encouragement that Latisha often shares with the 
young people in which she encounters, ``The Best is Yet to Come.''
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Latisha 
Rudd Boothe for her dedication to serving her community and this great 
state.

                          ____________________