[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6043]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             RAMON CORTINES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Chu) for 2 minutes.
  Ms. CHU. Today I want to honor a man, Ramon Cortines, for his many 
years serving students in our public school system.
  Ramon recently announced he was retiring as superintendent of the Los 
Angeles Unified School District. During his distinguished 55-year 
career in education, he has served as superintendent of schools in Los 
Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Pasadena, and New York City.
  I had the great privilege to work with Ramon last year when the Los 
Angeles Unified School District passed a resolution calling for 
immediate passage of the DREAM Act.
  But Ramon was not only a superintendent and advocate, he was a 
teacher in Aptos and Covina, which is in my district, and senior 
adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Education under President Clinton.
  A lifelong educator, Ramon has taught at every level in the public 
school system--elementary, middle, and senior high school--and has 
shaped education policy as a consultant to every entity from Stanford 
University to the University of California.
  Ramon came to the Los Angeles Unified School District at a time of 
great challenge; yet he was able to improve school safety, increase 
attendance, and reduce the dropout rate. Ramon Cortines has had an 
extraordinary record of service, and he changed the lives of thousands 
of children.
  Although he will be greatly missed, we must all continue the mission 
he strived for during his 55-year career, and that is to ensure that 
every child receives a quality education.

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