[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15524]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            DR. TOM CUMMINGS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SAM GRAVES

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 17, 2009

  Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today 
to recognize the outstanding service and leadership of Dr. Tom Cummings 
on the occasion of his retirement after 24 years of service to the 
North Kansas City School District, including 14 years as the 
superintendent.
  Dr. Cummings has dedicated the majority of his life to assisting and 
educating children. After receiving his undergraduate degree from 
Franklin College in Indiana and his Master of Science and Doctor of 
Education degrees from Indiana University, Dr. Cummings has committed 
almost half a century to education. From coaching basketball to 
becoming the district superintendent in 1995, Dr. Cummings has 
continually worked to improve the lives of his students. During his 49 
years as an educator, Dr. Cummings also always strived to serve his 
community. He was president of the Greater Kansas City School 
Administrators Association, served on the board of the directors for 
the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and served on the Education 
Commissioner's Advisory Committee.
  During his time as superintendent of the North Kansas City School 
District, Dr. Cummings changed the way the school district approached 
both education and the surrounding community. Dr. Cummings built a core 
foundation of transparency, community partnerships, technology, and 
impressive physical facilities. Due to these efforts, the school 
district began to receive money again from the community to pay for 
bonds. This was revolutionary for the school district, as every single 
request for school bonds in the 17 years prior to Dr. Cummings was 
turned down. Dr. Cummings commissioned a panel of community, government 
and business leaders that shaped the district's new mission--to provide 
an elite educational experience that produced enlightened citizens 
adaptable to change and involved in their communities.
  Dr. Cummings will leave many legacies at North Kansas City Schools. 
He created a professional and leadership development program, new 
career and technical education options for students, organizational 
efficiency, an award-winning money management team, standardized 
curriculum and differentiated instruction.
  Dr. Cummings has also been awarded numerous times throughout his 
tenure as superintendent. He was honored by YouthFriends as their first 
recipient of the School-Based Mentoring Achievement and Advancement 
Award. In 2005, Dr. Cummings was named the Missouri Superintendent of 
the Year. The following year, he received the Look North award for 
being an Outstanding Northland Leader by the Clay County Economic 
Development Council. In 2008, he was recognized as an Outstanding 
Missourian by the Missouri House of Representatives, and most recently, 
the school district's administration building was renamed the Thomas P. 
Cummings Administrative Center.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me in commending Tom 
Cummings for his many years of dedicated service to the North Kansas 
City School District. His commitment to the students, the school and 
our community provide a strong example of the kind of leader we should 
all strive to be. I know Tom's colleagues, family and friends join with 
me in thanking him for his commitment to others and wishing him 
congratulations on his retirement and best wishes on many more years of 
happiness and success.

                          ____________________