congressional_record: CREC-1996-10-21-pt1-PgS12424-4
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| granule_id | date | congress | session | volume | issue | title | chamber | granule_class | sub_granule_class | page_start | page_end | speakers | bills | citation | full_text |
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| CREC-1996-10-21-pt1-PgS12424-4 | 1996-10-21 | 104 | 2 | PRESIDENTIAL AWARD | SENATE | SENATE | ALLOTHER | S12424 | S12425 | [{"name": "Mark O. Hatfield", "role": "speaking"}] | 142 Cong. Rec. S12424 | Congressional Record, Volume 142 Issue 143 (Monday, October 21, 1996) [Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 143 (Monday, October 21, 1996)] [Senate] [Pages S12424-S12425] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] PRESIDENTIAL AWARD Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, on Wednesday, September 25, 1996, one of my favorite Oregon institutions was honored by the President of the United States. Saturday Academy of Oregon received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. The award was presented to Kathryn Gail Whitney, executive director of the academy since 1983, in a ceremony in the Indian Treaty Room of the Old Executive Office Building. I am pleased to add my congratulations to this deserving organization. This award includes a $10,000 grant and a Presidential commemorative certificate. It is given to individuals and institutions which have encouraged minorities, women, and persons with disabilities to earn degrees in science, mathematics, and engineering; 10 individuals and 6 institutions were honored this year, the first year in which these awards were presented. Saturday Academy is a private, nonprofit precollege educational program established in 1983, and based at the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology in the Portland, OR, metropolitan area. Four other Saturday Academy centers are located in Oregon. The academy enlists accomplished professionals from industry, higher education, and community agencies to create hands-on classes and apprenticeships for motivated 6th-through 12th-grade students. While the program focuses on science, math, and technology, instruction includes arts and humanities as well. The academy began in 1983 with three classes: Materials science, electronics, and large computer systems. Even while growing rapidly, Saturday Academy has worked for inclusiveness. This is an important goal in science and math education--we need strategies to encourage greater participation of women and minorities. Saturday Academy has worked diligently to increase the enrollment of young women--it now has an even enrollment of both sexes. Gail Whitney's arrival as executive director when the program was only months old, brought a change in recruitment strategy. Academy press releases began to stress the search for motivated students rather than gifted ones. The change has been significant. Experience shows that students who may not fit a school system's gifted criteria are designing electrical components or operating a business. A child who is quiet or reserved in the larger classroom may thrive in the hands-on environment of eight peers. In 1983, the academy's roster listed 9 classes and 71 students. The following February, the figures increased to 19 classes and 200 students. The 10th anniversary year of the program, 1993, found 40 classes per term being offered. During the 1995-96 school year there [[Page S12425]] were 7,692 participants for a total of 214,000 instructional hours; 800 professionals were involved as instructors or mentors. Mr. President, Gail Whitney and the founders of Saturday Academy represent one of the best models I have seen for cooperative private- public efforts to enhance science and math education. Meaningful reform in science and math education has been at the top of my priority list for many of my years in Congress. I am thrilled to see this deserving recognition for one of Oregon's finest efforts. ____________________ |