Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
323153732
label
D.C. 2000 12/20/91 ( Cancelled ) [OA 8332]
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
323153732
contentType
document
title
D.C. 2000 12/20/91 ( Cancelled ) [OA 8332]
citationUrl
identifierLocal
13787-002
collections
Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Speech Backup Chronological Files
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
323153732
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
bff3256c2748cfed
ocrText
Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Backup Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13787
Folder ID Number:
13787-002
Folder Title:
D.C. 2000 12/20/91 (Cancelled) [OA 8332]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
26
22
1
5
JOHN CRISP
5/12/91 5:30 p.m.
DC 2000.
one of Z optrons 1 visit to
sometype after School program,
Site TBD (concipt not settud)
like in S.E.(3)
ZND MAJOR CONVOCATION OF STUDENTS)
PARENTS (RANLY KEY DC LEADERS)
@ CONVENTION CENTER
MORE PEP. RAILY LN NATURE
mentioned LEWISTON Scitsol SPEECH
DC MAYOR OFFICE PITKITING". COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY INVOILEMENT
DEC. 9th/(20+h)
No TIME OF DAY YET
0
care
Barrie Two
C on Monday
To Jeannie
---
Date
Time 4:32
WHILE YOU WERE OUT
M John Crisp
of
Phone 401-3022
Area Code
Number
Extension
TELEPHONED
PLEASE CALL
CALLED TO SEE YOU
WILL CALL AGAIN
WANTS TO SEE YOU
URGENT
RETURNED YOUR CALL
Message
HB
Operator
AMPAD
EFFICIENCY®
23-021 CARBONLESS
DC 2000.
ALICE DEAL
CAREL AARHUS
BANNEKER/HINE
BUUE RIBBON SCHOOLS
AUCE FRAZVER KIDS TO LONDON
VISIT QUEEN OF ENGLAND-
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 1, 1991
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN NATIONAL EDUCATION ADDRESS
Alice Deal Junior High School
Washington, D.C.
12:15 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Ms. Mostoller, and thanks for
allowing me to visit your classroom to talk to you and all
these students, and millions more in classrooms all across the
country.
You know, long before I became President I was a parent.
I remember the times that my kids came up with a really tough
question or a difficult decision. I tried my best never to shut them
down with a quick" no." I would simply say those three magic words
that made that problem disappear: "Ask your Mother." (Laughter.)
Let me tell you why I've made the trip up from the White
House to Alice Deal Junior High. I'm not here to teach a lesson.
You already have a very good teacher. I'm not here to tell you what
to do or what to think. Maybe you're accustomed to adults talking
about you and at you -- well, today, I'm here to talk to you and
challenge you. Education matters, and what you do today, and what
you don't do can change your future.
Every day, we hear more bad news about our schools.
Maybe you saw today's headline -- I don't know if you had a chance to
look at it -- about the release of the new National Goals Report.
Get the camera to come in and take a look at this for a moment. In
math, for instance, this national report card shows that, nationwide,
five of six 8th graders don't know the math they need to move up to
the 9th grade.
In spite of troubling statistics like this one, I don't
see this report, however, as just bad news, and I'll tell you why.
This report tells us a lot about what you know and what you don't
know. It gives us something to build on. It shows us our strengths
and the weaknesses that we've got to correct. It sets forth a
challenge to all of us: Work harder, learn more, revolutionize
American education.
I know you've heard about stanines and percentiles,
surveys and statistics, but here's what all that fancy talk really
means: Education means the difference between a good future and a
lousy one. Reports don't give us the right to make excuses. Our
scores will tell us where we are and where we need to go.
I mentioned earlier the bad news we hear about schools
today. But what we don't hear enough about are the success stories.
You know, all over America, thousands of schools do succeed, even
against tough odds, even against all odds. Kids from all over the
District of Columbia petition to get into Alice Deal School here
because parents know this school works. It works because of teachers
like the one standing over here, Ms. Mostoller, who decided at the
age of 25 -- maybe you all know this, but a lot of people around the
MORE
- 2 -
country don't - she decided at the age of 25 that she wanted to
teach. She was standing in a supermarket checkout line when she saw
a magazine ad about college. She went back to school, worked her way
through in seven years, waiting tables to pay tuition. She made it,
and so can you.
This school here works because of students like the ones
with me today -- students like Rachel Rusch where's Rachel? Right
there, okay a member of Alice Deal's award-winning "Math Counts"
team. Rachel, you tell me if I'm wrong, but you and six other
students in this class alone have taken part in the Johns Hopkins
Talent Search. They took the college entrance exams on an
experimental basis last year as 7th graders. Even in junior high,
some of them scored well enough to get into college right now.
So
let's just put it on the line. You've got the brains. Now, put them
to work certainly, not for me, but for you.
Progress starts when we ask more of ourselves, our
schools and, yes, you, our students. We made a start nationally now
by setting six National Education Goals to meet the challenges of the
21st Century. By the year 2000, at least nine in every 10 students
should graduate from high school. We should be first in the world in
math and science. We need to regularly test student's abilities.
Every American child should start school ready to learn; every
American adult should be literate; and every American school should
be safe and drug-free. Reaching those goals is the aim of a strategy
that we call America 2000 -- a crusade for excellence in American
education school by school, community by community.
But what does all this mean you might say, what is he
doing, what does this all mean for the students right here in this
room? Fast-forward -- five years from now. Unless things change,
between now and 1996 as many as one in four of today's 8th graders
will not graduate with their class. In some cities, the dropout rate
is twice that high or higher. Imagine: Out of a total of nearly
three million of your fellow classmates nationwide, an army of more
than half a million dropouts.
I ask every student watching today: Look around you.
Count four students - start with yourself. No one dreams of
becoming a dropout, but far too many do. Which one of you won't make
it through school?
The fact is, every one of you can. Let's make a pact
then right here. Let's work to see that five years from now, you and
your friends will be more than sad statistics. Give yourself a
decent shot at your dreams. Stay in school. Get that diploma.
Let's go back to the future. In the fall of 1996 --
five years from now nearly half of today's 8th graders who get
their diplomas will enter the working world. More than half the
graduates will stay in school -- and become the college class of the
year 2000.
The question each student watching today should ask is:
Where will I be where will I be five years from now? Will I be
holding down a good job and maybe working toward a better one, or
will I be out of school and out of work? Will I be on a college
campus -- or out running the streets?
Think about that tonight when you're at a kitchen table
doing some homework; while your parents are meeting your teachers
like so many millions do this year at back-to-school nights all
across our great country.
I'm asking you to put two and two together: Make the
connection between the homework you do tonight, the test you take
tomorrow and where you'll be five, 15, even 50 years from now. You
MORE
- 3 -
see, the real world doesn't begin somewhere else, some time way down
there in the distant future. The real world starts right here. What
you do here will have consequences for your whole lives.
Let me tell you something many of you may find very
hard to believe this. You're in control. You're thinking: How can
the President say that about kids like us when we don't even have our
driver's license? But think about it, and you'll see what I mean.
Think about drugs. You see films. You hear police
experts and tough speakers from the outside. You get stern lectures
from everyone movie stars, athletes, teachers, parents, friends.
But you know and I know that all the drug prevention programs, all
the pledges, all the preaching in the world won't pull you through
that critical moment when someone offers drugs. At that moment,
everything comes down to you. Yes or no -- you've got to choose, and
the answer will change your life. Your parents won't make the
decision. Your teachers won't make the decision. Your friends won't
make the decision. It's up to you. It takes guts to take control.
A sound body and a sound mind -- they go together -- as
my friend - and he is a friend Arnold Schwarzenegger says. He's
crossing the nation talking with students about the importance of
fitness. And real fitness means no drugs.
Studies show a decline in drug use -- and that's good,
that's encouraging, I think. And every student who draws the line
against drugs really deserves credit for that. But drugs and
violence continue to threaten every school, every small town and
suburb in America. And as students, you have a right to be
physically safe at school. You should never have to worry that a
quarrel in the hallway will lead to gunfire in the playground. Fear
should never follow you into the classroom.
If you have to take the long way home after school so
you don't cross paths with the gang hanging on the corner, if
outsiders roam the halls of your school hassling kids, hassling
students, you must take control. Go to your teacher, or go to your
principal, or go to your parents -- as difficult as it may be, go to
the school board if you have to. Demand discipline. If good people
chicken out, bad people take control. Together, we can -- I really
believe this we can drive the drugs and guns and senseless
violence out of our schools.
When it comes to your own education, what I'm saying is
take control. Don't say school is boring and blame it on your
teachers. Make your teachers work hard. Tell them you want a first-
class education. Tell them that you're here to learn.
Block out the kids who think it's not cool to be smart.
I can't understand for the life of me what's so great about being
stupid. If someone goofs off today, are they cool? Are they still
cool years from now when they're stuck in a dead-end job? Don't let
peer pressure stand between you and your dreams.
Take control challenge yourself. Only you know how
hard you work. Maybe you can fake -- maybe, just maybe you can fake
your way into a job but you won't keep it for long if you don't
have the know-how to get the job done. Maybe you can cram the week
before that marking period ends, and turn that C into a B. But you
can't con your way past the SAT and into college. If you don't work
hard, who gets hurt? If you cheat, who pays the price? If you cut
corners, if you hunt for the easy A, who comes up short? Easy answer
to that one: You do.
You're in control -- but you are not alone. People
want you to succeed. They want to help you succeed. Here at Deal,
MORE
- 4 -
teachers like your outstanding teacher standing here with us today,
Ms. Mostoller - from your principal, Mr. Moss, to your custodian,
Mr. Francis. Right now in classrooms across this country -- in the
communities you call home when things get tough, when answers are
hard to come by -- there's a teacher, a parent, a friend or family
member ready to help you. They want to see you make it.
If you take school seriously, you won't have to settle
for a job just any job. You'll have a career. If you make it
your business to learn, one day you'll be a better parent. You may
not think about it now, but one day your children will want to look
up at you and say, "I've got the smartest Mom and Dad in the world."
Don't disappoint them.
Let me leave you with a simple message: Every time you
walk through that classroom door, make it your mission to get a good
education. Don't do it just because your parents -- or even the
President -- tells you. Do it for yourselves. Do it for your
future. And while you're at it, help a little brother or sister to
learn -- or maybe even Mom or Dad. Let me know how you're doing.
Write me a letter -- and I'm serious about this one -- write me a
know the address.
letter about ways you can help us achieve our goals. I think you
Now we're going to walk over to the school auditorium to
say hello to the rest of the student body. To all the students
across the country who watched us here in this great classroom today,
may I simply say thank you and good luck to you this school year.
And now, Ms. Mostoller, if you'll kindly lead the way.
Thank you all very much. Nice to be with you. (Applause.)
END
12:27 P.M. EDT
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 1, 1991
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN NATIONAL EDUCATION ADDRESS
Alice Deal Junior High School
Washington, D.C.
12:15 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Ms. Mostoller, and thanks for
allowing me to visit your classroom to talk to you and all
these students, and millions more in classrooms all across the
country.
You know, long before I became President I was a parent.
I remember the times that my kids came up with a really tough
question or a difficult decision. I tried my best never to shut them
down with a quick" no." I would simply say those three magic words
that made that problem disappear: "Ask your Mother." (Laughter.)
Let me tell you why I've made the trip up from the White
House to Alice Deal Junior High. I'm not here to teach a lesson.
You already have a very good teacher. I'm not here to tell you what
to do or what to think. Maybe you're accustomed to adults talking
about you and at you -- well, today, I'm here to talk to you and
challenge you. Education matters, and what you do today, and what
you don't do can change your future.
Every day, we hear more bad news about our schools.
Maybe you saw today's headline -- I don't know if you had a chance to
look at it -- about the release of the new National Goals Report.
Get the camera to come in and take a look at this for a moment. In
math, for instance, this national report card shows that, nationwide,
five of six 8th graders don't know the math they need to move up to
the 9th grade.
In spite of troubling statistics like this one, I don't
see this report, however, as just bad news, and I'll tell you why.
This report tells us a lot about what you know and what you don't
know. It gives us something to build on. It shows us our strengths
and the weaknesses that we've got to correct. It sets forth a
challenge to all of us: Work harder, learn more, revolutionize
American education.
I know you've heard about stanines and percentiles,
surveys and statistics, but here's what all that fancy talk really
means: Education means the difference between a good future and a
lousy one. Reports don't give us the right to make excuses. Our
scores will tell us where we are and where we need to go.
I mentioned earlier the bad news we hear about schools
today. But what we don't hear enough about are the success stories.
You know, all over America, thousands of schools do succeed, even
against tough odds, even against all odds. Kids from all over the
District of Columbia petition to get into Alice Deal School here
because parents know this school works. It works because of teachers
like the one standing over here, Ms. Mostoller, who decided at the
age of 25 -- maybe you all know this, but a lot of people around the
MORE
- 2 -
country don't she decided at the age of 25 that she wanted to
teach. She was standing in a supermarket checkout line when she saw
a magazine ad about college. She went back to school, worked her way
through in seven years, waiting tables to pay tuition. She made it,
and so can you.
This school here works because of students like the ones
with me today -- students like Rachel Rusch -- where's Rachel? Right
there, okay a member of Alice Deal's award-winning "Math Counts"
team. Rachel, you tell me if I'm wrong, but you and six other
students in this class alone have taken part in the Johns Hopkins
Talent Search. They took the college entrance exams on an
experimental basis last year as 7th graders. Even in junior high,
some of them scored well enough to get into college right now.
So
let's just put it on the line. You've got the brains. Now, put them
to work certainly, not for me, but for you.
Progress starts when we ask more of ourselves, our
schools and, yes, you, our students. We made a start nationally now
by setting six National Education Goals to meet the challenges of the
21st Century. By the year 2000, at least nine in every 10 students
should graduate from high school. We should be first in the world in
math and science. We need to regularly test student's abilities.
Every American child should start school ready to learn; every
American adult should be literate; and every American school should
be safe and drug-free. Reaching those goals is the aim of a strategy
that we call America 2000 -- a crusade for excellence in American
education school by school, community by community.
But what does all this mean you might say, what is he
doing, what does this all mean for the students right here in this
room? Fast-forward -- five years from now. Unless things change,
between now and 1996 as many as one in four of today's 8th graders
will not graduate with their class. In some cities, the dropout rate
is twice that high or higher. Imagine: Out of a total of nearly
three million of your fellow classmates nationwide, an army of more
than half a million dropouts.
I ask every student watching today: Look around you.
Count four students start with yourself. No one dreams of
becoming a dropout, but far too many do. Which one of you won't make
it through school?
The fact is, every one of you can. Let's make a pact
then right here. Let's work to see that five years from now, you and
your friends will be more than sad statistics. Give yourself a
decent shot at your dreams. Stay in school. Get that diploma.
Let's go back to the future. In the fall of 1996 --
five years from now -- nearly half of today's 8th graders who get
their diplomas will enter the working world. More than half the
graduates will stay in school -- and become the college class of the
year 2000.
The question each student watching today should ask is:
Where will I be where will I be five years from now? Will I be
holding down a good job and maybe working toward a better one, or
will I be out of school and out of work? Will I be on a college
campus -- or out running the streets?
Think about that tonight when you're at a kitchen table
doing some homework; while your parents are meeting your teachers
like so many millions do this year at back-to-school nights all
across our great country.
I'm asking you to put two and two together: Make the
connection between the homework you do tonight, the test you take
tomorrow and where you'll be five, 15, even 50 years from now. You
MORE
- 3 -
see, the real world doesn't begin somewhere else, some time way down
there in the distant future. The real world starts right here. What
you do here will have consequences for your whole lives.
Let me tell you something -- many of you may find very
hard to believe this. You're in control. You're thinking: How can
the President say that about kids like us when we don't even have our
driver's license? But think about it, and you'll see what I mean.
Think about drugs. You see films. You hear police
experts and tough speakers from the outside. You get stern lectures
from everyone -- movie stars, athletes, teachers, parents, friends.
But you know and I know that all the drug prevention programs, all
the pledges, all the preaching in the world won't pull you through
that critical moment when someone offers drugs. At that moment,
everything comes down to you. Yes or no -- you've got to choose, and
the answer will change your life. Your parents won't make the
decision. Your teachers won't make the decision. Your friends won't
make the decision. It's up to you. It takes guts to take control.
A sound body and a sound mind -- they go together -- as
my friend -- and he is a friend -- Arnold Schwarzenegger says. He's
crossing the nation talking with students about the importance of
fitness. And real fitness means no drugs.
Studies show a decline in drug use -- and that's good,
that's encouraging, I think. And every student who draws the line
against drugs really deserves credit for that.
But drugs and
violence continue to threaten every school, every small town and
suburb in America. And as students, you have a right to be
physically safe at school. You should never have to worry that a
quarrel in the hallway will lead to gunfire in the playground. Fear
should never follow you into the classroom.
If you have to take the long way home after school so
you don't cross paths with the gang hanging on the corner, if
outsiders roam the halls of your school hassling kids, hassling
students, you must take control. Go to your teacher, or go to your
principal, or go to your parents -- as difficult as it may be, go to
the school board if you have to. Demand discipline. If good people
chicken out, bad people take control. Together, we can -- I really
believe this -- we can drive the drugs and guns and senseless
violence out of our schools.
When it comes to your own education, what I'm saying is
take control. Don't say school is boring and blame it on your
teachers. Make your teachers work hard. Tell them you want a first-
class education. Tell them that you're here to learn.
Block out the kids who think it's not cool to be smart.
I can't understand for the life of me what's so great about being
stupid. If someone goofs off today, are they cool? Are they still
cool years from now when they're stuck in a dead-end job? Don't let
peer pressure stand between you and your dreams.
Take control -- challenge yourself. Only you know how
hard you work. Maybe you can fake -- maybe, just maybe you can fake
your way into a job -- but you won't keep it for long if you don't
have the know-how to get the job done. Maybe you can cram the week
before that marking period ends, and turn that C into a B. But you
can't con your way past the SAT and into college. If you don't work
hard, who gets hurt? If you cheat, who pays the price? If you cut
corners, if you hunt for the easy A, who comes up short? Easy answer
to that one: You do.
You're in control -- but you are not alone. People
want you to succeed. They want to help you succeed. Here at Deal,
MORE
- 4 -
teachers like your outstanding teacher standing here with us today,
Ms. Mostoller -- from your principal, Mr. Moss, to your custodian,
Mr. Francis. Right now in classrooms across this country -- in the
communities you call home -- when things get tough, when answers are
hard to come by -- there's a teacher, a parent, a friend or family
member ready to help you. They want to see you make it.
If you take school seriously, you won't have to settle
for a job -- just any job. You'll have a career. If you make it
your business to learn, one day you'll be a better parent. You may
not think about it now, but one day your children will want to look
up at you and say, "I've got the smartest Mom and Dad in the world."
Don't disappoint them.
Let me leave you with a simple message: Every time you
walk through that classroom door, make it your mission to get a good
education. Don't do it just because your parents -- or even the
President -- tells you. Do it for yourselves. Do it for your
future. And while you're at it, help a little brother or sister to
learn -- or maybe even Mom or Dad. Let me know how you're doing.
Write me a letter -- and I'm serious about this one -- write me a
letter about ways you can help us achieve our goals. I think you
know the address.
Now we're going to walk over to the school auditorium to
say hello to the rest of the student body. To all the students
across the country who watched us here in this great classroom today,
may I simply say thank you and good luck to you this school year.
And now, Ms. Mostoller, if you'll kindly lead the way.
Thank you all very much. Nice to be with you. (Applause.)
END
12:27 P.M. EDT
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
September 25, 1991
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN ADDRESS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS
The Sheraton Washington Hotel
Washington, D.C.
12:07 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very, very much. Thank
you ever so much, Lamar Alexander. What a job our Secretary is
doing. First class. (Applause.) I kind of like the music beyond
the wall over there -- (laughter) -- but I don't think they could
hold a candle to the Marine Band. I want to thank them very much for
being here. (Applause.)
And I know that all of you were perhaps as disappointed
as Barbara and I were by the weather today. You see, we'd planned on
hosting all 800 of you on the White House Lawn; and here I am, the
one who ended up making the field trip, along with Bar. (Laughter.)
But let me recognize, first off, the many corporate
contributors to the Blue Ribbon Program who are here today. And, of
course, I'm very pleased, again, to introduce or to acknowledge or to
thank our first-rate Secretary of Education, Lamar Alexander, who got
us over here. And believe me, he is a real taskmaster. He is seeing
to it that both Barbara and I mind our Ps and Qs and stay actively
involved in this education program we believe so strongly about.
Barbara and I are delighted to recognize the schools
that represent this nation's Blue Ribbon best. And we've bestowed
blue ribbons now for nine years. Some of your schools are no
strangers to the winner's circle. And today, we host a record 32
two-time winners. We meet at a moment when this nation has embarked
on what really is a crusade for real reform, revolutionary reform in
our schools. A crusade we call America 2000 -- a revolution that
will ready us to enter the new world now on our horizon.
As you know, right now the news for American education
is anything but good. Part of the necessary business of reform is to
shine a light into the dark corners of the system, focus on the
schools that aren't making the grade, shake people out of their
complacency, and show them we need change.
But there's another part, another part of the business
of building better schools across America, shining the spotlight on
the schools that work and the people that make them work. The
success stories like each one of the 222 schools here today.
Last December, with the world's attention riveted on
Desert Shield, I laid out five principles to guide our efforts to
restructure and revitalize our schools. With the state of our
schools back in the national spotlight, those principles bear
repeating today.
First we've got to raise expectations -- hold our
schools and students to a higher level of achievement. Second, we
must decentralize the authority -- clear some room for our teachers
and principals to do what they do best -- make learning come alive.
And third, we need responsible schools, customer-driven, and that
means school choice.
MORE
- 2 -
If we want to create a climate for change, let parents
decide which school, public or private, is best for the kids. And
fourth, we must make certain our schools are market-oriented. By
that I mean competition. Competition works in the business world; it
can spur excellence in our schools. And fifth and finally, we must
make sure that our schools are performance-based. We need to measure
our schools by real results, by the students they produce rather than
the resources that we pour in. Quite simply, then, measure by what
works.
Two years ago, I met with the governors of your state at
the Education Summit in Charlottesville, Virginia. There in the
shadow of Mr. Jefferson's university we set in motion the process
that identified six ambitious national education goals to prepare our
children for the challenges of a new century the challenges that
that century is destined to bring.
We came away from Charlottesville with a solid
consensus that what matters most is results. Now, a few days from
now the governors and members of our administration, who together
constitute the National Education Goals Panel, will tell us just how
far America needs to go to reach our goals for the year 2000. We
already know there is bad news. And this new national report card
isn't going to be one that we want to post on our refrigerators. The
point is, it's a place to start, though. Finding out where we stand
is the first step towards moving forward.
For a long time too long, really we spent our time
and energy talking about reform rather than taking action. And that
is changing now. And, again, I salute our Secretary of Education.
We're charting a new course for this nation's schools, and in that
effort, your schools are the pioneers -- the ones blazing a trail the
rest will follow someday. The levels of achievement we're looking
for in the year 2000 are the goals you're shooting for today.
And we here in Washington want to do what we can.
Clearly, we can lend a hand. But the real revolution takes place in
the communities that you call home. And when you come from as far
away as Kalaheo High in Hawaii, Alaska's -- here are a couple of
people who have come from as far away as Kalaheo High in Hawaii back
there Alaska's East Anchorage High School or Hahn American High
School on Hahn Air Force Base in Germany or as near to this place as
DC's own Benjamin Banneker and Hine Junior High, you see at a glance
that each school travels its own path to excellence.
One sad note for any of the kids here who made this
short trip from Banneker and Hine, the problem is that right after
lunch you'll have to be back in class. (Laughter.)
Some schools here today mirror the communities they come
from. Their successes reflect years of love and interest and just
plain hard work from communities that care. Some of the schools
represented here today triumphed against all odds in spite of tough,
cruel surroundings. For their students, these schools are islands of
calm in the midst of chaos. And that drives home today's lesson:
There's no blueprint for the one school that works for everyone. But
there is a blue ribbon for every school that works best.
Take Genesis, an alternative school for kids with
special needs out in Kansas City, Missouri. Genesis began as a Vista
program back in the mid-'70s. And today the vast majority of its
funds come from the private sector, from national organizations like
the United Way, down to local businesses.
Genesis serves the kids who have fallen through the
cracks, the dropouts, the teen mothers, children coping with broken
homes and shattered hopes. And it turns around two-thirds of the
troubled kids that come through its doors, prepares them to go back
MORE
- 3 -
to their old schools or go on to get a GED. For these students,
Genesis is literally a new beginning, a second chance that gives them
their best shot at a promising future.
The schools we honor today come in all shapes and sizes,
serve students of all races and creeds and colors. From America's
major cities to our tiniest town, each one of you represents the tip
of the iceberg, the collective accomplishment of teachers and
students, principals, parents and the communities you come from.
Consider one of the smallest schools here today,
Craftsbury Academy - a 180-student public school out in the Vermont
farm country, in a town called Craftsbury Common. Times are tough
out there. But economic difficulties haven't stopped that community
from giving its children every possible opportunity to learn.
I think it says something about Craftsbury that when the
teachers voted to send someone to today's ceremony, they sent a
parent Gary Houston -- a past graduate of Craftsbury whose four
kids go there now. So please accept our thanks for all the mothers
and fathers who understand what powerful teachers parents can be.
So today, your shining example must spark a revolution
in American education, spur reform that will literally reinvent the
American Schools. Each of your schools is well on the way to where
all of us must be. We'll reach our goals by challenging the best
minds and big thinkers out there to help us create a new generation
of American Schools and have these schools up and running in every
congressional district across America by the year 1996. By
challenging every city and town to join the crusade become an
America 2000 community. And I'm proud to tell you that so far, nine
states and one territory are already part of the great and growing
America 2000 community. And I assure you there is room for every
state, city and town across this country.
We really have to start now improve those schools
that lag behind, and make our best schools better still. We won't
write anyone off. We won't waste time wringing hands about the fact
that the year 2000 is just a little more than eight years away. Look
at it from a kid's point of view, a child's point of view: Eight
years is a lifetime of learning. So let's spend the time between now
and the year 2000 opening a new world of possibility for our
children.
And that's the spirit that will get us to our goals for
the year 2000. One community at a time, one school at a time, one
student at a time, for the sake of our future we will win this
American revolution.
And let me just say that if I ever let up and if I ever
don't show the proper leadership or the proper support for America
2000, I get it both ways. I get it coming on me from the Secretary
of Education who says, you are committed, now stay that way. And you
can bet your neck I get it from the person sitting on my right who's
dedicated a lot of her life to helping illiteracy. (Applause.)
So congratulations to all of you. And when you get home
with your blue ribbons, please share my thanks with everybody it's
not just you all but with everybody who makes your schools so
successful.
Thank you and may God bless the United States of
America. Thank you very, very much. (Applause.)
END
12:20 P.M. EDT
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
September 25, 1991
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN ADDRESS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS
The Sheraton Washington Hotel
Washington, D.C.
12:07 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very, very much. Thank
you ever so much, Lamar Alexander. What a job our Secretary is
doing. First class. (Applause.) I kind of like the music beyond
the wall over there -- (laughter) -- but I don't think they could
hold a candle to the Marine Band. I want to thank them very much for
being here. (Applause.)
And I know that all of you were perhaps as disappointed
as Barbara and I were by the weather today. You see, we'd planned on
hosting all 800 of you on the White House Lawn; and here I am, the
one who ended up making the field trip, along with Bar. (Laughter.)
But let me recognize, first off, the many corporate
contributors to the Blue Ribbon Program who are here today. And, of
course, I'm very pleased, again, to introduce or to acknowledge or to
thank our first-rate Secretary of Education, Lamar Alexander, who got
us over here. And believe me, he is a real taskmaster. He is seeing
to it that both Barbara and I mind our Ps and Qs and stay actively
involved in this education program we believe so strongly about.
Barbara and I are delighted to recognize the schools
that represent this nation's Blue Ribbon best. And we've bestowed
blue ribbons now for nine years. Some of your schools are no
strangers to the winner's circle. And today, we host a record 32
two-time winners. We meet at a moment when this nation has embarked
on what really is a crusade for real reform, revolutionary reform in
our schools. A crusade we call America 2000 -- a revolution that
will ready us to enter the new world now on our horizon.
As you know, right now the news for American education
is anything but good. Part of the necessary business of reform is to
shine a light into the dark corners of the system, focus on the
schools that aren't making the grade, shake people out of their
complacency, and show them we need change.
But there's another part, another part of the business
of building better schools across America, shining the spotlight on
the schools that work and the people that make them work. The
success stories like each one of the 222 schools here today.
Last December, with the world's attention riveted on
Desert Shield, I laid out five principles to guide our efforts to
restructure and revitalize our schools. With the state of our
schools back in the national spotlight, those principles bear
repeating today.
First we've got to raise expectations -- hold our
schools and students to a higher level of achievement. Second, we
must decentralize the authority -- clear some room for our teachers
and principals to do what they do best -- make learning come alive.
And third, we need responsible schools, customer-driven, and that
means school choice.
MORE
- 2 -
If we want to create a climate for change, let parents
decide which school, public or private, is best for the kids. And
fourth, we must make certain our schools are market-oriented. By
that I mean competition. Competition works in the business world; it
can spur excellence in our schools. And fifth and finally, we must
make sure that our schools are performance-based. We need to measure
our schools by real results, by the students they produce rather than
the resources that we pour in. Quite simply, then, measure by what
works.
Two years ago, I met with the governors of your state at
the Education Summit in Charlottesville, Virginia. There in the
shadow of Mr. Jefferson's university we set in motion the process
that identified six ambitious national education goals to prepare our
children for the challenges of a new century -- the challenges that
that century is destined to bring.
We came away from Charlottesville with a solid
consensus that what matters most is results. Now, a few days from
now the governors and members of our administration, who together
constitute the National Education Goals Panel, will tell us just how
far America needs to go to reach our goals for the year 2000. We
already know there is bad news. And this new national report card
isn't going to be one that we want to post on our refrigerators. The
point is, it's a place to start, though. Finding out where we stand
is the first step towards moving forward.
For a long time -- too long, really we spent our time
and energy talking about reform rather than taking action. And that
is changing now. And, again, I salute our Secretary of Education.
We're charting a new course for this nation's schools, and in that
effort, your schools are the pioneers -- the ones blazing a trail the
rest will follow someday. The levels of achievement we're looking
for in the year 2000 are the goals you're shooting for today.
And we here in Washington want to do what we can.
Clearly, we can lend a hand. But the real revolution takes place in
the communities that you call home. And when you come from as far
away as Kalaheo High in Hawaii, Alaska's -- here are a couple of
people who have come from as far away as Kalaheo High in Hawaii back
there Alaska's East Anchorage High School or Hahn American High
School on Hahn Air Force Base in Germany or as near to this place as
DC's own Benjamin Banneker and Hine Junior High, you see at a glance
that each school travels its own path to excellence.
One sad note for any of the kids here who made this
short trip from Banneker and Hine, the problem is that right after
lunch you'll have to be back in class. (Laughter.)
Some schools here today mirror the communities they come
from. Their successes reflect years of love and interest and just
plain hard work from communities that care. Some of the schools
represented here today triumphed against all odds in spite of tough,
cruel surroundings. For their students, these schools are islands of
calm in the midst of chaos. And that drives home today's lesson:
There's no blueprint for the one school that works for everyone. But
there is a blue ribbon for every school that works best.
Take Genesis, an alternative school for kids with
special needs out in Kansas City, Missouri. Genesis began as a Vista
program back in the mid-'70s. And today the vast majority of its
funds come from the private sector, from national organizations like
the United Way, down to local businesses.
Genesis serves the kids who have fallen through the
cracks, the dropouts, the teen mothers, children coping with broken
homes and shattered hopes. And it turns around two-thirds of the
troubled kids that come through its doors, prepares them to go back
MORE
- 3 -
to their old schools or go on to get a GED. For these students,
Genesis is literally a new beginning, a second chance that gives them
their best shot at a promising future.
The schools we honor today come in all shapes and sizes,
serve students of all races and creeds and colors. From America's
major cities to our tiniest town, each one of you represents the tip
of the iceberg, the collective accomplishment of teachers and
students, principals, parents and the communities you come from.
Consider one of the smallest schools here today,
Craftsbury Academy -- a 180-student public school out in the Vermont
farm country, in a town called Craftsbury Common. Times are tough
out there. But economic difficulties haven't stopped that community
from giving its children every possible opportunity to learn.
I think it says something about Craftsbury that when the
teachers voted to send someone to today's ceremony, they sent a
parent -- Gary Houston -- a past graduate of Craftsbury whose four
kids go there now. So please accept our thanks for all the mothers
and fathers who understand what powerful teachers parents can be.
So today, your shining example must spark a revolution
in American education, spur reform that will literally reinvent the
American Schools. Each of your schools is well on the way to where
all of us must be. We'll reach our goals by challenging the best
minds and big thinkers out there to help us create a new generation
of American Schools and have these schools up and running in every
congressional district across America by the year 1996. By
challenging every city and town to join the crusade -- become an
America 2000 community. And I'm proud to tell you that so far, nine
states and one territory are already part of the great and growing
America 2000 community. And I assure you there is room for every
state, city and town across this country.
We really have to start now -- improve those schools
that lag behind, and make our best schools better still. We won't
write anyone off. We won't waste time wringing hands about the fact
that the year 2000 is just a little more than eight years away. Look
at it from a kid's point of view, a child's point of view: Eight
years is a lifetime of learning. So let's spend the time between now
and the year 2000 opening a new world of possibility for our
children.
And that's the spirit that will get us to our goals for
the year 2000. One community at a time, one school at a time, one
student at a time, for the sake of our future we will win this
American revolution.
And let me just say that if I ever let up and if I ever
don't show the proper leadership or the proper support for America
2000, I get it both ways. I get it coming on me from the Secretary
of Education who says, you are committed, now stay that way. And you
can bet your neck I get it from the person sitting on my right who's
dedicated a lot of her life to helping illiteracy. (Applause.)
So congratulations to all of you. And when you get home
with your blue ribbons, please share my thanks with everybody -- it's
not just you all -- but with everybody who makes your schools so
successful.
Thank you and may God bless the United States of
America. Thank you very, very much. (Applause.)
END
12:20 P.M. EDT
Apr. 24 / Administration of George Bush, 1991
And in the midst of this bloody chaos,
Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; T. Sgt. Odis
Corporal Stowers took charge and bravely
Stowers, great-grandnephew of Cpl. Freddie
led his men forward, destroying their foes.
Stowers; and Gen. Colin L. Powell, Chair-
Although he was mortally wounded during
man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
the attack, Freddie Stowers continued to
press forward urging his men on until he
died.
On that September day, Corporal Stowers
was alone, far from family and home. He
Nomination of Nancy P. Dorn To Be
had to be scared; his friends died at his side.
an Assistant Secretary of the Army
But he vanquished his fear and fought not
April 24, 1991
for glory but for a cause larger than himself:
the cause of liberty.
The President today announced his inten-
Today, as we pay tribute to this great
tion to nominate Nancy Patricia Dorn, of
soldier, our thoughts continue to be with
Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of the
the men and women of all our wars who
Army for Civil Works at the Department of
valiantly carried the banner of freedom into
Defense. She would succeed Robert W.
battle. They, too, know America would not
Page.
be the land of the free, if it were not also
Since 1990 Ms. Dorn has served as
the home of the brave.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for
The soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines,
Inter-American Affairs at the Department
coastguardsmen of Desert Storm-a group
of Defense. Prior to this Ms. Dorn served as
that includes Staff Sergeant Warren-all
Special Assistant to the President for Legis-
these valiant Americans are heirs to the
lative Affairs at the White House, 1988-
legacy of Corporal Stowers and the men of
1989, and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Company C. No nation could be more
State for Legislative Affairs at the Depart-
proud of its sons and daughters than we are
ment of State, 1986-1988. In 1986 she
of them.
served as chief of staff and floor assistant for
Today, we celebrate their achievements,
the House Republican Deputy Whip Loef-
but we also heed these words echoing over
fler and press secretary and chief spokes-
the centuries: Only the dead have seen the
man for the Loeffler for Governor cam-
end of war. We owe it to Freddie Stowers
paign in Texas. Ms. Dorn served with Con-
and those who revere his legacy to defend
gressman Tom Loeffler as the associate staff
the principles for which he died and for
designee on the staff of the Committee on
which our great country stands.
Appropriations, 1983-1986, and as a legisla-
In that spirit, I am honored to welcome
tive assistant, 1981-1983.
two of his sisters-Georgiana Palmer, of
Ms. Dorn graduated from Baylor Univer-
Richmond, California, and Mary Bowens, of
sity in 1981. She was born September 18,
Greenville, South Carolina. They will
1958, in Lubbock, TX, and resides in Ar-
accept the award on behalf of their late
lington, VA.
brother, the text of which I will now ask
Sergeant Major Byrne to read the citation.
[At this point, the citation was read.]
I think that concludes the service, but I'd
Remarks to the United States Academic
like to ask the Vice President and Secretary
Decathlon Winners
of Defense and General Vuono and General
April 25, 1991
Powell to come up and thank our recipi-
ents. And maybe the other members of the
The President. Please be seated. Thank
Joint Chiefs would join us. I think it would
you. What a day. I was going to apologize
be most appropriate.
for keeping you waiting, but now I think I'll
take credit for giving you the time in the
Note: The President spoke at 3:08 p.m. in
sun here. [Laughter] It is beautiful, and we
the East Room at the White House. In his
are just delighted to have you all here. I
remarks, he referred to Gen. Carl E. Vuono,
want to especially recognize this gentleman
502
Administration of George Bush, 1991 / Apr. 25
in the front row, Ted Sanders, who's doing
All right, I have a question: What do you
such a wonderful job at our Department of
have in common with Bruce Jenner, Rafer
Education; Bob Suarez of the U.S. Academ-
Johnson, and Jim Thorpe? All-
ic Decathlon; and the teams from DC's
A Student. -wearing gold medals.
Benjamin Banneker High School and Alex-
The President. That's it. [Laughter] All
andria, Virginia's, Thomas Jefferson High
winning. All winners. All winning decath-
School of Science and Technology.
letes and the ones who mastered the ulti-
And of course, welcome to our newest
mate test of the athlete and the student.
American heroes, the 1991 Academic De-
You've shown your peers that it's as exciting
cathlon champs-the team's from J.J.
to root for an academic team as an athletic
Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas.
one. And that it takes skill, stamina, and
We're proud of you, and I think, America is
mental and emotional intensity to achieve
proud of you.
in the classroom as well as in the stadium.
I was looking over some of the questions
And by doing that, you give them a price-
you tackled, like: "The Earth's magnetic
less gift: the belief in their ability to reach
field is compressed on the sun-facing side
out and shape their own futures.
by what?" Well-[aughter]--the kids
Last week, along with the Secretaries
behind me know, but for the media out
from the Department of Education-Secre-
there, the answer is: solar wind. [Laughter]
tary Sanders was there and Secretary Alex-
You guys remember that.
ander, our new Secretary-I unveiled
All I can say is, I wouldn't have made it
America 2000, our long-range strategy for
past the round where they asked me to
educational excellence. It is ambitious. And
spell "broccoli." [Laughter]
it is far-reaching and absolutely essential.
But congratulations to Kevin, Dardy,
There's a new century coming, one with
Eugene, Misty, Christine, Craig, Wade,
unlimited horizons. And our goal must be to
make sure that our children enter this new
Amie, and Frank, and coaches Dorcas and
Linda-the Norman Schwarzkopfs of
world equipped with the skills that will let
Pearce High. [Laughter] That's what we
them dream dreams and know that they
can make them come true. America 2000 is
refer to you as around here. [Laughter]
You've done something remarkable. This
a challenge posed to each of us, to literally
reinvent American education, to reach
year's contest began with more than 35,000
deep within us to find answers, so that our
students at 3,500 high schools coast to coast,
kids can reach out to find the stars.
and now it's just you.
I must admit, it stirs my Texas pride a
And that's why I'm so proud of you as
messengers of this idea. Your lives and your
little to hear that in this national competi-
accomplishments speak to other kids the
tion's 10-year history, your school has won
way no words from a government or even a
five times. And I wish our son's Texas Rang-
teacher can. These kids look at each of you
ers might be achieving the same kind of
and they see themselves. They look at you
record in their field.
and they see what they, too, can become.
But I want to tell every one of the 35,000
And that's what a new kind of a hero is, a
across the Nation, seriously, what you've
new generation of heroes, with the good
done for this country. You've shown great
values you learn from disciplined determi-
things can be achieved by commitment, by
nation, the sharp mind that's not wasted on
perseverance, hard work, and teamwork.
drugs, the confidence and pride that come
And there's something I really like about
from stretching yourself, proving yourself.
the decathlon, something I'm going to tell
You're the ones who will help our America
my grandkids about. This isn't about being
2000 dream come true.
the smartest kid in your class; after all, each
You have some pretty impressive part-
of them is evenly divided among A, B, and
ners, too, who will also have a big role to
C students. The lesson, rather, of the Aca-
play in reaching our education goals-pri-
demic Decathlon is something each of us
vate businesses. For instance, in this year's
needs to take through life. It's about learn-
decathlon, there was the local foundation in
ing to be the best you can.
Hawaii which bought sweaters for its team
Apr. 25 / Administration of George Bush, 1991
to wear in competition, the Toastmasters
Secretary of Education; Bob Suarez, vice
Club which trained students for the speech
president of the U.S. Academic Decathlon;
segment, the companies that sent in experts
and Kevin Barenbalt, Dardy Chang,
from within their ranks to tutor the team
Eugene Chen, Misty Karin, Christine Liu,
members, and the major national corpora-
Craig Macaulay, Wade McIntyre. Amie von-
tions that underwrote scholarships for the
Briesen, Frank Wilde, Dorcas Helmes, and
winners.
Linda Berger of J.J. Pearce High School.
These businesses believe that each of us
can play a pivotal role in our kids' educa-
tional future. This amazing bond between
industry and individual is the keystone of
the American spirit. That spirit is the basis
Proclamation 6280-National Day of
of the decathlon. And it's exactly what we
Prayer, 1991
must bring to America 2000. You've
April 25, 1991
proven-and now we'll all act to continue
to prove-that together we can do great
By the President of the United States
things, great things that will help inspire
of America
others, great things like what's been done
at the decathlon by kids like DC's Banneker
A Proclamation
High's Che-Wah Lee. Che-Wah Lee won
While we owe constant praise to Al-
the speech gold medal telling how his par-
mighty God, we Americans have added
ents fled China so their children could
cause for thanksgiving on this National Day
know the American Dream; great things
of Prayer because of the recent coalition
done by kids like Christine Liu here at
victory in the Persian Gulf. However, our
Pearce High, the overall top student in the
joy and gratitude are inspired by far more
entire competition; by kids like Fred Klug,
than military triumph; on this special day of
winner of the decathlon's 1990 Caperton
prayer held in the 200th year of our Bill of
Award for dedication to learning in the face
Rights, we give thanks for America's long
of major obstacles: Fred is permanently par-
and abiding legacy of freedom.
alyzed, and scored 100 percent on the
During the past 200 years, the ideals en-
Super Quiz.
shrined in our Bill of Rights have gained
And there are great things being done by
favor around the world. Even where tyrants
teams like Thomas Jefferson High School of
have sought to rule by repression and
Science and Technology in Alexandria-
terror, the spirit of freedom has endured.
Rookie of the Year winner. Teams like
This is because, as Alexander Hamilton
Whitney Young Magnet High School in
once noted, "the Sacred Rights of Mankind
inner-city Chicago, which won this year's
are not to be rummaged for among old
bronze medal and became the model for
parchments or musty records. They are
other large urban schools. Teams like Ten-
written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole
nessee's Jackson Christian School-State
volume of human nature, by the Hand of
winner, although it has just 100 kids in the
the Divinity itself, and can never be erased
whole school.
or obscured by mortal power." Almighty
Abraham Lincoln said, "I will study and
God has granted each of us free will and
prepare myself, and someday my chance
inscribed in our hearts the unalienable dig-
will come." You've done just that. And
nity and worth that come from being made
you've inspired your countrymen to do just
in His image.
that.
Because our dignity and freedom are gifts
Thank you, and congratulations. And may
of our Creator, we have a duty to cherish
God bless you in the exciting futures out
them, always using the latter to choose life
there ahead of you. Thank you very, very
and goodness. On this occasion we do well
much.
to pray for the wisdom and the resolve to
do just that.
Note: The President spoke at 11:37 a.m. in
As an elevation of the soul's eyes to
the Rose Garden at the White House. In his
Heaven, prayer helps us to distinguish be-
remarks, he referred to Ted Sanders, Under
tween liberty and license-to recognize
504
Services of Mead Data Central, Inc.
PAGE
2
3RD STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright (c) 1991 The Washington Post
October 17, 1991, Thursday, Final Edition
SECTION: METRO; PAGE D3
LENGTH: 628 words
HEADLINE: 30 Newest Ambassadors to England Take the Stage in SE
SERIES: Occasional
BYLINE: Patrice Gaines-Carter, Washington Post Staff Writer
BODY:
Shekiya Crawford wrote in her winning essay that she lives "in a
drug-infested neighborhood" and wants to go to England to help the British
solve their social problems. "Maybe the people of England have drug problems
like we do, or maybe their teenagers need advice on not getting pregnant," she
wrote.
Shekiya, 13, was one of 30 students from Fletcher Johnson Educational
Center who found out yesterday that they had won an essay contest and the
grand prize, a trip to London next month with council member H.R. Crawford
(D-Ward 7). (Shekiya is no relation to the council member.)
The students wrote on the theme "Why I would be a good Ward 7 Junior
Ambassador to Great Britain."
Students at the school in Southeast Washington gathered in the auditorium
and tried to sit politely while their principal, H.R. Crawford and a British
Embassy official spoke. But by the time the names were called, the fidgeting and
murmuring were at a peak.
"Kwanee Price!" Crawford called.
"Charles Price"
"Kwanza Price!"
Kwanee and Kwanza are twins, 13. Charles, 12, is their brother. Charles,
sounding very much like an Academy Award winner, told a reporter, "Without the
support of our aunt, our grandmother and our mother, we wouldn't have made it.
"Our mother died a few years ago. Something was wrong with her heart. We live
with our grandmother, who gave us a lot of support. Our aunt helped us type our
papers. Our mother taught us all we know."
"Peitra Davis!"
Peitra, 13, said she and three friends "got together at lunch and prayed. I
feel weak," she said, as she hugged her friends.
"Aubrey Bowman!"
LEXIS'NEXIS'LEXIS NEXIS
Services of Mead Data Central, Inc.
PAGE 3
(c) 1991 The Washington Post, October 17, 1991
Aubrey, 12, wrote he "would want to learn how to play cricket, soccer, and
in-line roller-skating from an Englishman." Then he wrote a poem keyed to the
letters of the word "ambassador: "A is for being ambitious, M is for meeting
people," etc.
Crawford came up with the idea for the trip after the Queen of England
visited the Marshall Heights neighborhood in his ward last May. Alice Frazier,
whose home her majesty visited, will accompany the students.
"Aynna Kinney!"
The 14-year-old, who has never flown and wants to be a lawyer, ran to the
stage, and stood with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her mother, seated in the
front row, jumped up and thrust two fists in the air.
"It's the best thing that ever happened to me," said Aynna, trembling with
excitement.
When they called John Shuler's name, the crowd went crazy. Shuler, 18, said
it's because he's "a little playful and nobody thought I'd do something like
this." He said he was in a youth correctional center earlier this year after
being picked up for possession of drugs.
The 30 winners stood in somewhat of a line, but mostly they ran around
hugging one another, giggling and squealing with joy. There was a lot to be
excited about.
Archie Buffkins of the Kennedy Center announced that James Wolfenson, the
center's director, was personally donating money for the group to see a play in
England and also outfitting each student with a blue blazer and a gray skirt
or trousers.
Annie Addison, grandmother of the Price children, said she wanted to help
them with their papers but "everytime I started reading them, I went to sleep. I
never read one in its entirety."
After the students and the parents settled down and the other students
left the auditorium, Crawford and Principal George Rutherford II, who will
accompany the group to England, got down to some planning details. Rutherford
announced a big fund-raising dinner Nov. 2.
On stage, winners Sharn Cook, 12, and Darin Newson, 11, talked about what
they wanted to see in London.
"Picadilly Circle," said Darin.
= Queen Victoria Memorial," said Sharn.
"Buckingham Palace," Darin said.
On that, the two slapped palms.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO, LASHAWN COLEMAN, HER SISTER, ROBIN, IN TOW, JUMPS AS SHE LEARNS
THAT HER ESSAY HAS WON HER A TRIP TO LONDON. DAYNA SMITH
LEXIS'NEXIS'LEXIS NEXIS
Services of Mead Data Central, Inc.
PAGE
4
(c) 1991 The Washington Post, October 17, 1991
TYPE: DC NEWS
SUBJECT: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; TRAVEL AND TOURISM; GREAT BRITAIN; STUDENTS
ORGANIZATION: FLETCHER JOHNSON EDUCATIONAL CENTER
NAMED-PERSONS: SHEKIYA CRAWFORD; H.R. CRAWFORD; CHARLES PRICE; PEITRA DAVIS;
AUBREY BOWMAN; AYNNA KINNEY; JOHN SHULER
LEXIS'NEXIS'LEXIS'NEXIS
Services of Mead Data Central, Inc.
PAGE
5
2ND STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright (c) 1991 The Washington Post
November 17, 1991, Sunday, Final Edition
SECTION: METRO; PAGE B3
LENGTH: 619 words
HEADLINE: Queen's Washington Hostess To See Her Majesty's Realm;
Excited Southeast Residents Depart for England
SERIES: Occasional
BYLINE: Keith Harriston, Washington Post Staff Writer
BODY:
Alice Frazier was ready to leave her home on Queen's Stroll in Southeast
Washington yesterday afternoon to begin her trip to England, but stopped
short of the front door.
She hugged her son Ron. She hugged her grandson Dietrick. She even hugged her
daughter Betty Queen, who was making the trip with her.
It was a fitting bon voyage for the 67-year-old grandmother who made
international headlines last May when she greeted Queen Elizabeth II at her
home with an affectionate hug - a break with centuries of British protocol.
"I'm so excited," Frazier said. "I'm happy to be going out of the states for
the first time. I never thought that me just being myself would get me a trip to
England. =
Frazier was part of a group of 56 people who left for England last night,
including 30 students and three teachers from the Fletcher Johnson Educational
Center, community leaders and Ward 7 D.C. Council member H.R. Crawford.
For seven days the group will tour England with stops at Buckingham Palace,
Piccadilly Circus, the American Embassy, a youth center and several schools. No
visit with the queen is on the schedule.
"It would be nice to see her again," said Frazier, who prepared potato salad
and fried chicken for Queen Elizabeth II and Barbara Bush when they visited
her home. "My first thought would be to hug her again."
The flight will be the first plane ride for many in the group. For others, it
will be the first flight over an ocean. That made some of them a little nervous,
including Frazier.
"I don't want to think about that really," she said. "I'm going to pretend
that I'm down on the ground in a car."
The students chosen to make the trip wrote essays about why they would
make a good junior ambassador to Great Britain.
Anticipating her departure kept 14-year-old Yatiya Gross awake Friday night.
After hours of scratching her hands and wringing her fingers, she got out of
LEXIS'NEXIS'LEXIS'NEXIS
Services of Mead Data Central, Inc.
PAGE
6
(c) 1991 The Washington Post, November 17, 1991
bed at 5 a.m. yesterday. And she woke up everyone else in her home.
"I couldn't help it," Yatiya said. "I was just up walking around, thinking
about it."
She set her travel clock ahead six hours. She rechecked her two bags she
already had packed.
At 2:45 p.m., almost an hour before the group was scheduled to meet at
Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church, Yatiya arrived with her mother, father and
grandmother.
"We're here first because of me," said Yatiya's grandmother, Geraldine Smith.
"I was doing the driving. And she had us all up so early, we wanted to get her
here in a hurry."
Orville Hammond, 13, was just as excited. But he took a different approach.
With two of his three bags packed by 7 p.m. Friday, Orville decided to go to
sleep. But like Yatiya, Orville awoke at 5 a.m. yesterday.
"I was ready to go," said Orville, who would be taking his first trip by
plane. "I wish we had left" Friday.
Waiting in the church parking lot yesterday afternoon and watching taxicabs
line up for the long ride from Southeast Washington to Dulles Airport still
was not enough evidence to prove to 12-year-old Sharn Cook that he was leaving
the United States.
"I don't think I'm gonna believe it until the plane takes off," Sharn said.
British Airways donated airfare for the group. And several other foundations
and businesses donated money or clothing. Nike donated tennis shoes and warm-up
suits for the entire group. They all wore them yesterday, including Frazier,
who, her relatives said, never wears pants.
"You know, I couldn't let the children be the only ones who are sporty," said
Frazier, who was wearing an aqua-and-white warm-up suit over a T-shirt from the
Hard Rock Cafe.
She pointed to her shiny, white leather Nike shoes.
"And you know what they say: When in Rome, do as they do."
GRAPHIC: PHOTO, ALICE FRAZIER, WHO BECAME FAMOUS FOR HUGGING QUEEN ELIZABETH
II, IS HUGGED BY HER SISTER, MARY PROCTOR, AS SHE LEAVES FOR A VACATION IN
ENGLAND. LUCIAN PERKINS
TYPE: DC NEWS
SUBJECT: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; GREAT BRITAIN; STUDENTS; TRAVEL AND TOURISM;
ROYALTY AND NOBILITY
NAMED-PERSONS: ALICE FRAZIER; QUEEN ELIZABETH II
LEXIS'NEXIS'LEXIS NEXIS
Services of Mead Data Central, Inc.
PAGE
7
1ST STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright (c) 1991 The Washington Post
November 24, 1991, Sunday, Final Edition
SECTION: METRO; PAGE B14
LENGTH: 647 words
HEADLINE: No Hug This Time On Visit to Home Of Royal Guest
SERIES: Occasional
BYLINE: Glenn Frankel, Washington Post Foreign Service
DATELINE: LONDON, Nov. 23, 1991
BODY:
Alice Frazier, the Washington grandmother who received world attention for
the hug she gave Queen Elizabeth II during the monarch's state visit to the
United States, this week paid her own, less formal version of a state visit to
the British capital.
She came to London along with her daughter, Betty Queen, D.C. Council
member H.R. Crawford (D-Ward 7) and 53 Washington area residents, including
community leaders and 30 students from the Fletcher-Johnson Educational
Center.
The group spent seven event-packed days in the country touring schools,
community centers, a public housing complex, museums and a concert hall. They
also took a bus tour of the English countryside and a cruise on the River
Thames. They finished up the visit today with a trip to the Tower of London
and St. Paul's Cathedral and depart Sunday morning to return to Washington.
But the highlight for Alice Frazier was a trip Thursday morning to
Buckingham Palace, where the group witnessed the changing of the guard. Special
passes had been arranged so that they could watch the ceremony from inside the
palace gates.
"There were so many people standing outside," she recalled. "I was just glad
to be inside the gate."
The trip is the first time Frazier, who is 68, has traveled outside the
United States. She said the entire experience has been thrilling. "There are so
many beautiful things to see -- the scenery, the buildings, the churches," she
said. "I'll have a whole lot to talk about when I get home."
The 30 students from Fletcher-Johnson are all Ward 7 residents selected by
a panel after they had submitted essays on the theme, "Why I would be a good
Ward 7 Junior Ambassador to Great Britain." All are seventh- or eighth-graders.
"A lot of these kids have never been out of the District before, let alone
gone somewhere like England, = said Ronald Collins, Crawford's chief of staff
and spokesman for the group. "It's been a very rich cultural and educational
experience for them and for all of us."
LEXIS'NEXIS'LEXIS NEXIS
Services of Mead Data Central, Inc.
PAGE
8
(c) 1991 The Washington Post, November 24, 1991
British Airways provided free tickets to the students plus two additional
tickets for a raffle held to raise money for the trip. Sir Robin Renwick,
British ambassador to the United States, and Lady Renwick helped make the
arrangements. Thirty-three companies, groups and individuals helped sponsor or
otherwise assist the visitors.
During her state visit to Washington last May, the queen visited Ward 7,
the District's easternmost ward and one of its poorest. It was the first time a
visiting head of state had traveled to the ward, which is 97 percent black.
Accompanied by First Lady Barbara Bush, Mayor Sharon Pratt Dixon, Housing and
Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp and many local officials, the queen
toured the new Richard England Police Boys and Girls Club and several
single-family houses on Drake Place SE newly developed by the Marshall Heights
Community Development Organization.
It was while strolling through those houses that the queen met Alice
Frazier, who along with her family was one of the first residents in the new
houses.
She welcomed the queen into her house, then bestowed upon the monarch a
spontaneous and affectionate bearhug that stunned the entourage and surprised
the queen herself. Public shows of affection to members of the royal family
are frowned upon in Britain, but the queen took Frazier's hug in stride. For
many it proved to be the most memorable moment of the trip.
Drake Place has since been renamed Queen's Stroll to commemorate the visit.
Besides Crawford and his wife, Eleanora, the group visiting London this
past week included George Rutherford II, principal of Fletcher-Johnson, his
wife, Sandra, and Ulysses Glee, chairman of the Ward 7 Democrats.
Fletcher-Johnson is an open-space school serving 865 preschoolers through
ninth-graders. It is one of only two open-space schools in the District's public
school system.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO, AT THE PALACE, ALICE FRAZIER CHATS WITH A POLICEMAN. IN THE
BACKGROUND ARE H.R. CRAWFORD AND GEORGE RUTHERFORD II. REUTER
TYPE: DC NEWS, FOREIGN NEWS
SUBJECT: GREAT BRITAIN; TRAVEL AND TOURISM; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
NAMED-PERSONS: ALICE FRAZIER; QUEEN ELIZABETH II
LEXIS'NEXIS'LEXIS'NEXIS