The publication is reproduced in full below:
IN CELEBRATION OF WINNETONKA HIGH SCHOOL'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY
______
HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER
of missouri
in the house of representatives
Thursday, February 25, 2021
Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I rise today with abundant joy and everlasting hope to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Winnetonka High School, a member of the North Kansas City School District. For half a century, as an institution devoted to instilling the fundamental values of tradition, respect, unity, and excellence, Winnetonka High School has consistently proven itself to be far more than just a brick-and-
mortar school.
1971 represented the first year that students were warmly welcomed to Winnetonka High School, a place that future alumni would call a ``home away from home.'' Beginning that year, Winnetonka embarked on an endeavor to simultaneously provide opportunities to its students and service to its community. When those first 600 students opened the doors of Winnetonka High School for the first time back on March 1, 1971, they began a tradition of excellence that has been carried on by thousands of students since. In that first year, the students and staff collaborated to create an environment where they could explore their possibilities, prioritize building positive relationships with others, and celebrate the unique purpose that inspires each student.
While many things have changed in our country and in the Kansas City community over the past fifty years, excellence and innovation have remained constant at Winnetonka. Committed to closing the opportunity gap, Winnetonka was the first high school in Missouri to be designated as a National Demonstration School for the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. This designation was earned after years of helping students find success in both their school and their community through collaboration, inquiry, and relationship building. These principles have provided the bedrock of the many successful student organizations that generations of Winnetonka Griffins have helped create. Groups like the acclaimed student publication Griffin Rites, the Muslim Student Association, the Blacks Achieving Greatness organization, and the National Honors Society all work to create an inclusive, empowering, and exciting space where students can realize their full potential. Winnetonka students have relished these opportunities, with several becoming National Merit Scholarship semi-
finalists and thousands more finding success in their careers after graduation. Dr. Eric Johnson, Winnetonka's principal, acknowledged after he was named the 2020 Missouri Principal of the Year that the accolades of the faculty and staff were only made possible by the good fortune of having one-of-a-kind students at a one-of-a-kind school. It is clear for all to see that Kansas City is a better place to live because of the impact that Winnetonka High School graduates have on our community every day.
In a letter to Booker T. Washington, Missouri-born scientist George Washington Carver wrote that ``Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.'' By attending Winnetonka High School, Kansas City students not only gain the freedom that comes with opportunity, but also the skills and abilities needed to achieve their version of the American Dream. As we look to the next fifty years, there are certainly a great many unanswered questions weighing heavily on our minds. However, one thing remains certain: Winnetonka High School will continue its everlasting endeavor to provide that most precious key to freedom to all students who pass through its doors.
Madam Speaker, colleagues, please join me in extending our warm congratulations and very best wishes to the administration, faculty, staff, parents, and students of Winnetonka High School as they commemorate fifty years of exceptional service to Kansas City, and further extend our best wishes for their continued success. Let us also embrace Winnetonka High School's mission in our own lives; let it inspire us to educate others responsively, embrace our duties fully, and prepare holistically the next generation of American leaders, so that we can fulfill our unique purposes and change our community, our country, and our world for the better.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 36
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
House Representatives' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
Alerts Sign-up