[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 18651-18652]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING NORTH CAROLINA SUPERINTENDENT MIKE WARD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. PRICE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 2004

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 
contributions of North Carolina's outgoing Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, Dr. Mike Ward.

[[Page 18652]]

  Dr. Ward was elected State Superintendent in 1996, the first year 
that schools were scrutinized under North Carolina's ABCs 
accountability program. The Federal No Child Left Behind law was 
enacted a year after Dr. Ward began his second term, adding another 
layer of scrutiny and accountability. Dr. Ward used these challenges as 
opportunities to raise student achievement, while advocating for 
improvements in the Federal law--including more adequate funding--so 
that its purposes might be more fully achieved. It is fitting that on 
his last day in office he was able to announce that North Carolina's 
average on the SAT had reached a new high and had closed within 20 
points of the national score.
  During his eight years as the State's chief elected education leader, 
Dr. Ward relied heavily on his experience as a local superintendent--
which earned him North Carolina's Superintendent of the Year Award--and 
as a teacher and high school principal. He was a tireless advocate for 
teachers and other school employees, promoting high standards, better 
compensation, and opportunities for professional development. Dr. Ward 
believed strongly in the power of teaching and learning, and he 
regularly set aside time to be in the classroom working with students.
  Dr. Ward was respected by his peers and was selected President of the 
Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), whose members include 
State superintendents and education commissioners from across the 
country. He used this opportunity to raise North Carolina's profile as 
a leader in improving student performance and school accountability.
  I am pleased to join my fellow North Carolinians in thanking Mike 
Ward for his conscientious and effective service: He leaves our schools 
stronger, our teachers better equipped, and our students better trained 
than they were when he started. I wish Dr. Ward and his wife, the 
Reverend Hope Morgan Ward, all the best as they make the transition 
from North Carolina to Mississippi, where she will become a Methodist 
bishop. I know that it won't be long until my colleagues from 
Mississippi realize how fortunate they are to have this family as part 
of their community.

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