[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 93 (Monday, June 2, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CELEBRATING THE CAREER OF ELISSA DeVITO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, June 2, 2025

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate a 
devoted public servant, Elissa DeVito of Preston, Connecticut. Elissa 
is retiring from teaching at Waterford Public Schools after over 30 
years of dedicated service. Her decades of outstanding expertise and 
dedication to her community will be sorely missed.
  Elissa spent her early life in Rockville, Maryland before attending 
Syracuse University where she met the love of her life, Michael. Elissa 
moved to Connecticut in May of 1991. She and Michael lived in Groton 
and Mystic before settling in Preston in 1994, where they have been 
ever since.
  Elissa chose a path of public service and has dedicated her life to 
education and teaching. For decades, she has worked as a teacher, 
helping to shape the minds of generations of children. She began her 
career with Waterford Public Schools on November 30, 1992, at 
Oswegatchie Elementary School. She stayed at Oswegatchie until the fall 
of 2009 when she transferred to Quaker Hill Elementary School. While 
Elissa has spent most of her career working with kindergarteners, she 
has also spent a few years working with first and second graders.
  Always going above and beyond to create a caring and supportive 
environment for the students that entered her classroom, it has been 
Elissa's mission to provide the next generation with the tools they 
need to succeed. Elissa is a natural educator and has been known as an 
expert at teaching young students to read. Students go from learning 
the letters of the alphabet to reading books by the end of their time 
in her classroom.
  As she enters retirement, Elissa is looking forward to spending more 
time reading, one of her favorite pastimes, visiting her daughters, 
Samantha, Emily, and Alexa and going on trips with her husband Michael.
  Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to represent constituents as devoted and 
compassionate as Elissa. Elissa has impacted hundreds of students 
during her career. Elissa will leave behind an expert skill set and 
enthusiasm that will be hard to replace, but her 33 years of unwavering 
dedication to the Waterford community will leave a legacy for years to 
come through each and every one of her students. Mr. Speaker, I ask 
that my colleagues join me in recognizing Elissa DeVito's immeasurable 
contributions and congratulating her on her well-earned retirement.

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