In Honor of the 75th Birthday for the University Park Elementary School

IN HONOR OF THE 75TH BIRTHDAY FOR THE UNIVERSITY PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL—HON. PETE SESSIONS (Extensions of Remarks - April 27, 2004)

HON. PETE SESSIONS
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2004

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 75th Birthday for the University Park Elementary School in Dallas, Texas. I am proud to represent the University Park Elementary School in Congress, and four of my staff members in my Washington, D.C. and Dallas offices are graduates of the Highland Park Independent School District, and so I am well aware of the quality education that University Park Elementary School and the Highland Park Independent School District deliver on a yearly basis. One of my staff members has three generations of his family that attended University Park Elementary School.

The State of Texas is celebrating 150 years of publicly educating young Texans, and along with this important anniversary is the 75th Birthday for the University Park Elementary School. This is a very special milestone in the history of the school, its students, families, teacher professionals, support staff, and the greater community that it has served with distinction for three-quarters of a century. I congratulate the school's principal Dr. Lynda Carter for her excellent leadership of the school during this birthday year.

University Park Elementary School opened its doors in September of 1928 with six teachers and 165 students. The school has come a long way from its initial academic year, as in 1988 the United States Department of Education cited University Park Elementary School for its excellence in education; and it has also received national recognition for excellence in the area of character development. In 2001, University Park Elementary School received special recognition from the Texas Commissioner of Education, Jim Nelson, for being one of the eight schools in Texas to receive an "Exemplary" rating for nine years of the rating system's existence.

University Park Elementary School will formally celebrate its birthday on Friday morning, and I am very much looking forward to being there personally in honor of such a great occasion. I sincerely salute the University Park Elementary School on its birthday, and I wish it continued success for many years to come.

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