[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8472]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING MRS. LINDA CANLAS ON HER RETIREMENT FROM FAITH RINGGOLD 
                           ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ERIC SWALWELL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 9, 2016

  Mr. SWALWELL of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mrs. 
Rosalinda Valencia ``Linda'' Canlas on her retirement as Principal from 
Faith Ringgold Elementary School in Hayward, California.
  Linda has been an active proponent of public education throughout her 
career. She has instilled a sense of leadership, moral courage, and 
personal responsibility in the many students that have had the 
privilege to be seated in her classroom. Her dedication to those 
students who were not well served by other schools is commendable.
  While serving as principal, Linda has actively sought to implement a 
program to improve the quality of education, introducing effective 
teaching practices, standards-based curricula and a culture of 
effective collaboration between school staff and parents. Her efforts 
have proven to be successful, with Faith Ringgold seeing a 28 percent 
increase in academic performance over a three-year period.
  She was elected as a Trustee to the New Haven Unified School Board in 
2010, and she has served as a Board Member, the Clerk, and the Board's 
President. She helped spearhead the movement to rename Itliong-Vera 
Cruz Middle School, honoring the farm labor leaders who worked 
alongside Cesar Chavez.
  Linda's dedication to our community extends beyond her commitment to 
education. She is an active member of her local parish, and serves as a 
committee member of the Ukulele Festival of Northern California. She 
has also raised her family to share in her dedication to public 
service. She is the proud mother of two daughters. One is now a 
licensed attorney and the other is beginning a career of her own as a 
public school teacher.
  Linda's commitment to the students at Faith Ringgold and in schools 
across the Hayward and New Haven Unified School Districts is truly 
extraordinary. I want to acknowledge her for her dedication to a 
sustainable future and congratulate her on her well-deserved 
retirement.

                          ____________________