[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 10538] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]HONORING PHYLLIS WEBER ______ HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH of california in the house of representatives Thursday, June 10, 2010 Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Phyllis Weber upon her retirement as the Principal of El Portal School and Yosemite Park High School. After thirty-two years in education, Ms. Weber will be honored at a retirement party in El Portal, California on Thursday, June 10, 2010. Ms. Weber received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Dayton in Ohio and her Master of Arts degree in environmental and outdoor education from San Francisco State University. After three years as an environmental investigator for the Environmental Protection Agency, she became an instructor for the Yosemite Institute starting in January 1976. The Yosemite Institute is one of the nation's leading environmental education organizations dedicated to bringing school age children to Yosemite where they have an opportunity to experience and learn about the majestic place. Ms. Weber became known as a dynamic naturalist and teacher who had an amazing ability to connect with her students, a trait that carried forward throughout her career. At the Yosemite Institute she also met Mr. Art Baggett, a fellow instructor, and now her husband of more than thirty years. In 1978, Ms. Weber began teaching first, second and third grades at El Portal Elementary School. She has also taught courses for a wilderness program for the Saratoga/Los Gatos High School District, winter ecology for Antioch College, mountain ecology for the University of California at Santa Cruz, Yosemite Natural History for the College of Marin and various college courses for the Yosemite Institute. As the principal of Yosemite National Park's El Portal School and Yosemite Park High School since 2000, Ms. Weber has gracefully inspired teachers, staff and students to perform at high levels, as confirmed annually by the high test scores at the El Portal School. She has an uncanny ability to see the potential in her students and to draw them out in a way that helps them fulfill their potential. She has also developed a very positive reputation for her community through her school's ability to communicate with, and educate, Spanish-speaking students while making them feel welcome and part of the community. Ms. Weber's hallmark has been her enthusiasm to encourage new and innovative programs proposed by her teachers, students and parents and to actively seek creative ways to fund these programs. She has become a master at working within school district budgets and has diligently travelled with the district office to Mariposa, Sacramento and Washington, D.C. to support her budget, as well as working closely with parents and the local community on fundraising and support. In addition to her professional endeavors, Ms. Weber has been very involved in public service and her family has been an integral part of the Yosemite community for several generations. As part of her public service, Ms. Weber was elected to the Board of Trustees for the Yosemite Natural History Association in November 1979 and she began her service on January 26, 1980. For the past thirty years she has served on the Board for the Yosemite Natural History Association, the Yosemite Association and now the Yosemite Conservancy, where she is currently the chair of the education and programs committee. In this role, Ms. Weber and her family share their deep passion for Yosemite and Mariposa County. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate Principal Phyllis Weber upon her retirement from El Portal School and Yosemite Park High School. I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing Ms. Weber many years of continued success. ____________________