[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 10, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H22]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HONORING KEN SMITH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Beyer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to honor the 
extraordinary career of Ken Smith, who at one time was from Delaware 
and then Virginia and now makes his home in Florida.
  A long time ago, in the faraway land of Delaware, Ken was a young 
policy assistant to Governor Pete du Pont, after serving as a staff 
aide during the Nixon administration. His career in education had 
started in 1973 when President Nixon appointed him vice chairman of the 
National Advisory Council on the Education of Disadvantaged Children.
  Governor du Pont and Ken made the startling discovery that there was 
enormous economic, social, and cultural potential residing in adults 
who had dropped out of high school but were never realized because of 
educational and career blockages. These were smart kids, but kids who, 
for whatever reason, had to quit school and go to work.
  With the Governor's blessing and leadership, Ken created Jobs for 
Delaware's Graduates, a model program for intervening with the young 
women and men most likely to drop out, saving them not just to get them 
to graduation but to land them in good jobs or at least postsecondary 
education.
  Jobs for Delaware's Graduates worked so well, Governor du Pont shared 
its success with Republican and Democratic Governors across the 
country, and many created their own programs. Vice President Walter 
Mondale was so impressed, he asked them to replicate it across the 
country. They needed a national leader, and Ken Smith was chosen to be 
the first--and for more than 40 years the only--CEO and President of 
Jobs for America's Graduates.
  Jobs for America's Graduates launched in four States, including 
Virginia, and was bipartisan from the very start. Ken wisely cultivated 
Governor after Governor from both parties to grow the programs in their 
States, knowing that this was the most secure path to sustained 
economic growth and to overcome the poverty that cursed our least 
educated.
  Today, Jobs for America's Graduates is helping 75,000 young people 
per year in over 1,450 high schools, middle schools, and out-of-school 
programs in more than 40 States.
  I had the great privilege of chairing Jobs for Virginia's Graduates 
for 14 years, always bipartisan. It is now led by the Honorable Eileen 
Filler-Corn, the first woman speaker in the Virginia House. JVG is 
serving the kids with barriers to success in over 50 Virginia high 
schools today.
  Ken Smith wisely created a national board to oversee the growth of 
this most successful high school dropout prevention program. The board 
chair is always a Governor, and it alternates between a Democratic and 
Republican every year. We are honored to have Governor Kim Reynolds of 
Iowa chair the board this year. She succeeded Governor John Bel Edwards 
last year. A fun fact is that the Jobs for America's Graduates board 
has more Governors than any other board, including the National 
Governors Association.

                              {time}  1030

  Ken's leadership and advocacy over 40 years has inspired many 
highlights, from Governor George Bush installing the program in every 
high school in El Paso, to Governor Mike Pence expanding all throughout 
Indiana. Our own Virginia Governor, Chuck Robb, served as national 
chairman; and our current Governor, Glenn Youngkin, has kept this 
commitment in his budget.
  Remarkably, with Ken Smith at the helm, over 1,400,000 young men and 
women have graduated from high school, exceeding expectations they and 
their families had rarely hoped for.
  In more than 40 years, Jobs for America's Graduates has never had a 
graduation rate below 90 percent, and today, the current graduation 
rate is above 95 percent.
  Throughout his career, Ken has been appointed by multiple Presidents 
to serve as an education adviser given his deep connection and 
commitment to helping youth.
  Thanks to Ken could not be given without saying thank you to his 
family, of course, who supported him throughout his career. Nora, his 
wife; Tara and Jennifer, his daughters; and most recently, his two 
granddaughters continue to support his work.
  I have known many good human beings in my life. I get to serve in 
this House, where the great majority of us, Democrats and Republicans, 
serve because we are trying to make the world and America a better 
place. I have almost never met a man who has had as great a lifetime 
impact on far more than 1 million young people than Ken Smith. He has 
given his life to others and changed those lives with his love, hard 
work, and his courage.
  Ken Smith, in your deserved pretend retirement, I salute you and 
thank you for your inspiration and your service.

                          ____________________