[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19121-19122]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF LOU XIONG

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 7, 2010

  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievement 
of Lou Xiong on the occasion of receiving the 2010 Milken Educator 
Award from the Milken Family Foundation. The Milken Family Foundation's 
Milken Educator Award seeks to celebrate, elevate, and activate 
exemplary K-12 educators and has been hailed as the ``Oscars of 
Teaching.'' Ms. Xiong was one of 55 educators across our Nation, and 
one of only three in the State of California, to be honored this year.
  Lou was born in Laos as the fifth of 12 children to Chong Sue Xiong 
and Khou Moua. In 1980, Lou and her family immigrated to the United 
States from Laos in search of a better life. After attending high 
school in the Fresno area, Lou enrolled at California State University, 
Fresno, and graduated in 1999 with a Bachelors of Arts degree in 
Liberal Studies. Upon graduation, Lou joined the staff at Balderas 
Elementary School in Fresno, California, to follow her dream of 
becoming a teacher.
  Over the last 11 years at Balderas Elementary School, Ms. Xiong has 
taught a variety of subjects to students in the fourth, fifth and sixth 
grades and contributed immensely to both her students and the school. 
In addition to her teaching duties, Lou has volunteered her time in 
school site responsibilities serving as Grade Level Chair, 
participating in the Leadership Team, serving on the School Site 
Building Committee and acting as Coordinator of the Hmong New Year 
Celebration. Outside of the classroom, Lou has served as a Math Coach 
for the Fresno Unified School District, helping fellow teachers and 
assisting in creating a pacing guideline program which is now used 
throughout the district.
  Lou has also been actively involved in Fresno Unified School 
District's Superintendent's English Learner Task Force to ensure that 
language barriers do not keep students from succeeding in school. Lou's 
life story serves as a positive example for her students, demonstrating 
that despite the obstacles she has had to overcome as an immigrant, 
anything is possible with hard work and determination. The community of 
Fresno is very fortunate to have such a dedicated individual who 
continues to inspire students to believe they can achieve anything.
  Lou is married to her husband Shue Vue, a civil engineer for the 
State of California Department of Transportation. Lou and Shue Vue have 
three children together and hope that the success they have achieved in 
their chosen professions provides inspiration for their children to 
achieve their own personal success in life and give back to their 
communities.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 
achievement of Lou Xiong in the field of education as she is recognized 
as one of a select few top educators in our country by the Milken 
Family Foundation.

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