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“TRIBUTE TO JANE ELLEN STRITZINGER” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S5608-S5609 on May 24, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO JANE ELLEN STRITZINGER
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to one of this country's great educators as she retires after over 30 years of teaching English in my home state of Alabama. This week marks the end of an outstanding career for Jane Ellen Stritzinger as she retires from Demopolis High School. Mrs. Stritzinger has taught thousands of students to write well and motivated many to pursue higher education. I join her family, friends, fellow teachers and the students she has guided in congratulating and wishing her well in retirement. Her devoted service to the young people of Alabama has made both the state and the nation better places. Her leadership and teaching will be sorely missed.
Mrs. Stritzinger's awards, activities and leadership positions are far too numerous to list exhaustively, yet a few bear special mention. She was selected as the Alabama State Teacher of the Year, District V winner for 1999-2000. Mrs. Stritzinger has also received the University of West Alabama College of Liberal Arts Alumni Achievement Award, the Tombigbee Girl Scout Council Outstanding Educator Award and the Alabama Council of Teachers of English Distinguished Service Award. She has also been recognized three times by the National Endowment for the Humanities with Awards allowing her to attend special seminars. In addition to her support of educational efforts, Mrs. Stritzinger has played active roles in numerous community organizations including historical, alumni and religious organizations.
Mrs. Stritzinger spent most of her career teaching English and literature to twelfth grade students at Demopolis High School where she has been responsible for the Advanced Placement, Honors and College-
bound English classes. In addition, she has served as the Chairperson of the English Department at Demopolis High School for twenty years and of both the English Curriculum Development and the English Textbook Committees. Early in her career, she taught English at Uniontown High School and remedial reading at Westside School and served as Assistant Director of the Alabama Consortium for the Development of Higher Education. She has helped mold the minds of students as they prepared for college and for life. Her focus on encouraging and recognizing academic excellence extended beyond her classroom to the numerous activities and organizations she helped coordinate including founding the local chapter of the National Honor Society.
Mrs. Stritzinger holds a strong belief in encouraging students to improve their reading abilities and develop strong writing skills. She championed using the Accelerated Reader Program and applied for her school to become an Alabama Reading Initiative Demonstration site. She devoted countless hours over the years to the Alabama Penman Creative Writing Contest, the Gulf Coast Writing Conference, the Program to Recognize Excellence in High School Literary Magazines, a tutorial program for high school students and the Beta Club. Mrs. Stritzinger participated in a program on writing instruction filmed by the State Department of Education for Alabama Public Television.
Strong schools foster strong students and Mrs. Stritzinger worked diligently to improve the quality of our Alabama schools. She was selected as Chairperson of the Ten Year Study for Demopolis High School for Southern Association accreditation and as Teachers' Representative to the Demopolis Educational Foundation. She served as chairperson of the Grants Committee for the Educational Foundation and coordinated a system-wide meeting for reading and language teachers on improving test scores. Mrs. Stritzinger represented Demopolis High School on the Mid-
South Humanities Project, the University of Alabama Bio-Prep Workshops and a School Improvement Workshop. She also served on an Alabama State Department of Education Evaluation Team to accredit Judson College. Central to her effort to improve our schools was her twenty years as a Cooperating Teacher providing guidance to student teachers seeking classroom experience. She also played an active role in encouraging the use of technology in the classroom including through the use of the Internet.
Mrs. Stritzinger earned both Masters and Bachelors degrees in English and maintains affiliations with numerous education associations. She has been married to Pete Stritzinger for 36 years and while pursuing this busy career raised two daughters--Ann and Gloria. Mrs. Stritzinger's commitment to Demopolis Schools continues a tradition begun by her mother Lucille Lewis who was also a long serving public school teacher.
No one can begin to quantify the amazing impact that a teacher of Mrs. Stritzinger's ability has had on her students and on her community. The success stories are myriad and many of Mrs. Stritzinger's students have risen to become pillars of their communities. Often her students have been inspired by Mrs. Stritzinger's teaching to pursue careers as teachers or careers which depend upon the critical thinking and strong writing skills fostered by her classes.
As you can tell from my description of her career, Mrs. Stritzinger's involvement in the Demopolis City School System will be hard to replace. Although I am sure she will stay involved with the schools and the community after retirement, she has begun a legacy of success that is sure to be continued. I am confident that her former students and fellow teachers will continue to rise to the challenges that Mrs. Stritzinger posed to them.
Congratulations again Mrs. Stritzinger on such an outstanding career.
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