Honoring the 50th Anniversary of Crocker Middle School

by Jackie Speier

Honoring the 50th Anniversary of Crocker Middle School

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HON. JACKIE SPEIER

OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, this year marks the 50th Anniversary of William H. Crocker Middle School in Hillsborough, California.

Crocker Middle School has been recognized as a California Distinguished School seven times, most recently in 2007, and is one of only three schools in the entire nation to be awarded a National Blue Ribbon for Secondary Schools on four occasions. Among the school's many other rewards, in 1993, Crocker was named to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Science's "Top Five World Class Schools."

Crocker Middle School has served the community by constantly reviewing and improving its curriculum and continually striving for academic excellence. The newest addition to the Crocker campus is a building housing a state-of-the-art studio for Hillsborough Television (HTV), band and music instruction rooms, a lecture hall modeled after facilities at Harvard University, and much needed classrooms. This completed a ten year Hillsborough School District renovation project.

Madam Speaker, William H. Crocker Middle School has educated my own children, Jackson and Stephanie, so I can vouch first-hand to its excellence and the caring and passion of its incredible staff. In addition to strong academic programs in English, mathematics, science, social studies, foreign language, and physical education, Crocker offers electives in the arts and personal development skills such as leadership and public speaking.

The entire Crocker School family believes strongly that its role is to help each child build a foundation that will serve her or him for their entire life. Every aspect of its educational curriculum is designed to build a close, caring community in which every child and every adult is recognized and respected.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to be a William H. Crocker Middle School parent and I salute Crocker's longtime principal, Janet Chun, who has been a beacon of expanded learning that includes a strong community service component. She follows in the impressive footsteps of her predecessors, Fred Schwartz, Carl Zon, Marilyn Loushin Miller, Dan Kreuzer and Larry Raffo, all of whom deserve our recognition and our gratitude. I congratulate everyone in the Crocker community for half a century of academic and community achievement.