[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15311]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DR. JAMES MEZA, JR.

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I wish to recognize and honor Dr. James 
Meza, Jr., who has devoted much of his life to ensuring that all of 
Louisiana's students receive an excellent education. He currently 
serves as Superintendent of the Jefferson Parish Public School System 
and while he will soon retire from this role, he will be leaving behind 
an indelible mark of impressive leadership and results. On behalf of 
the U.S. Senate and the State of Louisiana, I applaud Dr. Meza as a 
champion of high quality education and for his devotion to Louisiana's 
public education system.
  Dr. Meza's experience in education spans more than 40 years and 
crosses teaching and leadership positions both at the K-12 and higher 
education levels. As a champion of education reform, Dr. Meza developed 
many of the pioneering ideas in Louisiana that led to revolutionary 
reform movements across the Nation. In the devastating aftermath of 
Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav, Dr. Meza was instrumental in one of the 
most transformational endeavors of modern public education helping to 
establish the Recovery School District in New Orleans, LA, which is now 
100 percent public charter schools and has experienced extraordinary 
progress in closing the achievement gap.
  Dr. Meza served most recently as the Superintendent of Jefferson 
Parish Public School System, Louisiana's largest and most diverse 
school district, serving 46,000 students. Since becoming the head of 
Jefferson Parish Public School System in 2011, Dr. Meza has led a 
reform agenda that has transformed the school system from one in a 
downward spiral for achievement to one of Louisiana's most improved 
school systems. In 2 years, Jefferson Parish Public School System has 
improved its State performance rating from a letter grade ``D'' to 
``B.'' In that same period, the number of ``A'' and ``B'' schools has 
increased dramatically, from 13 to 32. Jefferson Parish is home to 4 
schools that are ranked in the top 10 in Louisiana.
  Prior to becoming Superintendent of Jefferson Parish Public School 
System, Dr. Meza served as Professor and Dean at the University of New 
Orleans, UNO, for more than 21 years where he published more than 40 
journal articles to study education reform, specifically focused on 
serving children of low-income families in Louisiana and nationwide. 
Dr. Meza is recognized nationally for redefining the role of colleges 
of education and their work with low performing schools. As Dean, he 
launched the UNO Charter School Network of four charter schools, as 
well as Louisiana's first Type 5--turnaround--charter school. His 
efforts were recognized by New Orleans City Business, which presented 
him with the ``Innovator of the Year'' award. He received the honor and 
title of Professor and Dean Emeritus from the LSU system, recognizing 
his years of scholarship at UNO.
  Dr. Meza has served as the Executive Director of the Louisiana State 
Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, BESE, and the Interim 
State Superintendent of Education for Louisiana. During this time, he 
was a pioneer in school accountability, launching Louisiana's 
educational quality and trust fund, 8G, and restructuring the 
Department of Education as Louisiana transformed the State 
Superintendent's position from an elected position to one appointed by 
BESE. Dr. Meza also has served as a faculty member at Nicholls State 
University, principal of Cabrini High School, and teacher at E.D. White 
and Isidore Newman High School.
  Dr. Meza has received numerous awards and deserved recognitions for 
his transformational work in the education sphere. He is the recipient 
of The Weiss Award by the New Orleans Council for Community and 
Justice, which honors members of the Greater New Orleans community for 
civic and humanitarian contributions. He has also been recognized as a 
``Super Hero'' by the national organization Stand for Children for his 
work in improving quality educational opportunities for children of 
poverty.
  Dr. Meza currently serves on the Board of Directors of Holy Cross 
School and was a member of the Louisiana Serve Commission and the 
Southern University System Board of Supervisors. He is also a founding 
board member of Ben Franklin High School and Edward Hynes charter 
schools. Dr. Meza served 32 years in the Louisiana Army National Guard 
and retired at the rank of Colonel.
  I am proud that Louisiana's students and teachers have had the strong 
leadership and guidance of Dr. Meza over the years. Dr. Meza's 
leadership as the Superintendent of the Jefferson Parish Public School 
System will be missed; however, I have full faith and trust that he 
will continue to lead in improving the educational prospects and 
outcomes for Louisiana's students in whatever role he pursues next. 
Once again, I am privileged and honored to formally recognize Dr. James 
Meza, Jr. for his commitment and efforts to strengthen public education 
in Louisiana.

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