[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4556]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        A TRIBUTE TO WENDY RICH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 22, 2010

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Wendy Rich 
for her years of contribution to education in New York City.
  Wendy Rich was born in Brooklyn, New York, during the time of the 
Baby Boomer years. She grew up in Cambria Heights, Queens, where she 
attended P.S. 176, J.H.S. 59, and Andrew Jackson High School. Her 
father, Joseph Trachtenberg, worked as a salesman in the garment 
center. Her mother Hilda, a stay at home mom, worked as a school 
secretary for after school and summer programs in District 29 in 
Queens, New York. Wendy is the mother of two sons; Jared, an attorney 
in Brooklyn, New York, and Greg, a teacher who is on a mission to 
expose his students to great works of literature.
  Wendy's educational preparation includes a bachelor's degree in 
education with a minor in behavioral science from Queens College. In 
the summer of 1970, she went on an archeological dig in Northern 
California which helped spark a lifelong interest in other cultures and 
natural things.
  In 1972, after college graduation, she married Harris Rich, who was 
an English teacher. This was during the Vietnam War and many men were 
getting deferments by working in urban schools. Wendy worked as a 
substitute teacher since teaching jobs were difficult to find. She got 
her first teaching position in 1973 at P.S. 92 because of federal 
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act funds. In 1974, a year later, 
she was laid off with the other 10,000 teachers most recently hired, to 
balance the city's budget.
  In 1977 she resumed teaching at P.S. 181 as a fourth grade teacher. 
After a few years at P.S. 181, she was given an opportunity to teach 
science. She was able to teach students amazing content with lots of 
freedom for 17 years. This opportunity opened other doors; she 
volunteered to be on the teacher's advisory group for the Prospect Park 
Audubon Center. Since the fall of 2003, she has been teaching graduate 
students at Brooklyn College the course Teaching Science in the 
Elementary Schools.
  After years of hard work and dedication, in June of 2009, Wendy and 
her husband Harris retired from New York City Department of Education.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 
contributions of Wendy Rich.

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