[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8014-8015]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1050
 CONGRATULATING CAROL MARTIN GATTON ACADEMY OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Carol 
Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science for being named 
America's Best Public High School for 2012 by Newsweek magazine.
  Each year, Newsweek publishes a ranking of the Nation's top 1,000 
public high schools. Schools are judged on criteria such as percentage 
of graduates accepted to college, advanced placement and international 
baccalaureate test scores, and average SAT scores. Year after year, one 
quarter of the schools making the list are located near major 
metropolitan areas. However, I am proud to announce that this

[[Page 8015]]

year's number one school, the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and 
Science, is in my hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky.
  I witnessed firsthand the Gatton Academy grow from a dream of a few 
committed individuals into a reality. I was serving in the Kentucky 
senate back in 2004 when rumblings of the school first began. Named 
after renowned Kentucky entrepreneur Carol Martin ``Bill'' Gatton, the 
school first opened its doors in 2007 to a select group of 126 public 
high school students. Aside from meeting stringent admission criteria, 
today's Gatton Academy students embody a love and talent for science 
and math. Students there also share a common hunger for college-level 
academics, and that is exactly what they get at Gatton Academy.
  Students are submerged in academics as they live and study in a 
residence hall built especially for them on Western Kentucky 
University's campus. Most classes are college level and are taken on 
the WKU campus alongside college undergrads.
  At the Gatton Academy, students break the traditional high school 
mold, trading locker-filled hallways and 8 a.m. bells for access to 
college-level innovative technology and the study of DNA and 
alternative fuels. Students work regularly with their instructors on 
scientific research projects, and also take advantage of the school's 
study abroad programs. This past winter, several students had the 
opportunity to study in Western Europe and Costa Rica.
  Students at the Gatton Academy graduate with more than just a high 
school diploma, as many students are well on their way to obtaining 
college and postgraduate degrees by the time they graduate high school.
  The Gatton Academy is one of 16 residential public high schools in 
the Nation specializing in science, technology, engineering, and math--
STEM subjects. In a world of increased global competitiveness, enhanced 
STEM education is critical if we want to remain one of the world's most 
technologically advanced nations. I applaud the faculty and staff at 
both the Gatton Academy and WKU for fully recognizing this and making a 
commitment to the education of the Commonwealth's best and brightest 
students.
  Specifically, I would like to recognize the Gatton Academy's 
executive director and visionary for the academy, Dr. Julia Roberts, 
and director Dr. Tim Gott, and congratulate them on this recognition, 
which is a testament to their years of hard work. I would also like to 
congratulate and thank Dr. Gary Ransdell, the president of Western 
Kentucky University, for making WKU's partnership with the Gatton 
Academy possible.
  Again, I offer my congratulations to the entire Gatton Academy 
community on this outstanding accomplishment. I look forward to 
following the future success of the Gatton Academy and its students.

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