[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7828]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE BELLFLOWER UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 1999

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, improving our nation's public schools is one 
of the top priorities of the 106th Congress. We all share the goal of 
better educational opportunities for our nation's children. The only 
question is how to achieve that goal. Already this year both houses of 
Congress set an excellent tone of bipartisanship by passing the 
Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999--a measure that will help 
bring much-needed relief to our schools and improving the academic 
achievement of our students. This bill, like others Congress will 
consider this year, recognizes that local control is best for our 
schools, rather than a ``Washington knows best'' policy. Local school 
districts across the nation are laboratories for reform--finding 
innovative ways to improve student achievement. I rise today to pay 
tribute to one such school district, the Bellflower Unified School 
District, which serves many students residing in California's 38th 
Congressional District.
  The Bellflower Unified School District recently received a Citation 
in the 1999 Magna Awards for Outstanding Programs in Student 
Achievement, presented by The American School Board Journal and Sodexho 
Marriott School Services. The awards recognize local school boards for 
taking bold and innovative steps to improve their educational programs, 
and include $500 in scholarship money. The Bellflower Unified School 
District received the award for its Intensive Learning Center in 
Lakewood, CA--an elementary school that serves as a research model to 
demonstrate what works best in elementary education. The Intensive 
Learning Center offers a rigorous course of study and a longer school 
day (8 hours) and school year (200 days). It features state-of-the-art 
technology, including a science laboratory that allows students to 
perform experiments usually available only to secondary school 
students. Its faculty includes five full-time specialists to provide 
enrichment in science, technology, reading, Spanish, and physical 
education.
  Also key to the success of the Intensive Learning Center was the 
willingness of the Bellflower Board of Education to collaborate with 
teachers and unions. The board and the union negotiated time to allow 
grade-level teams of teachers to meet daily for an hour to plan 
instructional units. The teachers at the Intensive Learning Center 
deserve commendation for their hard work in making the Center a 
success.
  The Bellflower Unified School District received another honor 
recently when Esther Lindstrom Elementary School in Lakewood was 
selected as a California Nominee in the National Blue Ribbon Schools 
1998-99 Elementary Program. Esther Lindstrom Elementary is one of 
California's 49 Nominees in this competition. Nationally, 381 public 
schools were nominated. Esther Lindstrom is one of 224 public schools 
(39 in California) to be selected for a site visit in the competition. 
The criteria on which the schools are judged include curriculum; 
teaching strategies; student achievement; student focus and support; 
school organization and culture; active teaching and learning; staff 
development; and school partnerships with families, businesses, and the 
larger community.
  I congratulate Board of Education President Ruth Atherton, Vice 
President G. ``Petie'' Anderson, Clerk Rick Royse, Board Member Harold 
Carman, Board Member Jerry Cleveland, and an outstanding Superintendent 
Dr. Rebecca Turrentine. They have made a real difference not only for 
the students of their School District, but also for children across the 
nation whose schools can learn from the innovations of the Intensive 
Learning Center and the successes of Esther Lindstrom Elementary 
School.

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