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Recognizing the retirement of Terry Neustaedter as Principal of Berryhill Elementary School
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| October 29th, 2007 |
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Madam Speaker,
It is an honor for me to rise today and recognize the retirement of Terry Neustaedter, a great educator.
For over 33 years, Terry has served as the principal of Berryhill Elementary School in Milton, Florida, and under his leadership the school’s size, facilities, and reputation have flourished. When he took the helm at Berryhill in 1974, the school served 350 students with a faculty and staff of only 35 people, and when he retires at the end of this year the student body will have more than doubled to 850 students and a faculty and staff of 115.
When the state of Florida implemented the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) to determine how well schools were meeting the standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act, every school principal was faced with a new challenge of making sure the schools under their charge lived up to its highest potential. Within two years, Terry Neustaedter had Berryhill Elementary School earning an A grade, and it has remained that way ever since. In addition, the Florida Department of Education recently awarded Berryhill with a Certificate of Achievement for having exceeded the standard for annual progress, and the school is one of only 12 schools out of 1,400 to receive such distinction.
Terry’s leadership of Berryhill Elementary was not limited to just within the school walls. The school has received numerous awards on both the state and local level for community involvement, especially in the area of volunteering in the surrounding community. These volunteer efforts have included helping raise money for the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Association, and for many years Berryhill has received the Department of Veteran Affairs “Outstanding Service” award recognizing its outstanding service to our nation’s veterans through the Voluntary Service Program. In addition, he has brought programs into the school that teach the importance of civic participation through activities such as voting, reinforcing the importance of being involved with one’s community.
Madam Speaker, Terry’s leadership and friendly positive demeanor will be missed by past and current students of Berryhill Elementary School. I am confident that those following in his footsteps will aspire to achieve the same great results for our nation’s youth as Terry has achieved, and I know he will continue to be looked up to as a great educator.
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There are no Floor Speechess to be displayed for this month.
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