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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN RECOGNITION OF JAMIE NICHOLAU ADAMS
______
HON. JACKIE SPEIER
of california
in the house of representatives
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Jamie Adams who is
receiving the Citizen of the Year and Community Care Award from the
Associated Parents' Group of Hillsborough for her tireless work
improving the lives of our children.
As the principal at West Hillsborough School from 2009 to 2015 and
the principal at Crocker Middle School from 2015 to the present, Ms.
Adams has served Hillsborough with a dedication to students, a sense of
community and forward-thinking leadership. She has always been open to
feedback and input while remaining grounded in her principles which
focus on what is best for all students, not only each individual
student. In her own words, she strives to ``uphold high academic
standards, support innovative instruction, and build a sense of
community among students, teachers, staff and parents on a daily
basis.''
Ms. Adams had devoted her entire career to education and the
betterment of others. Originally from Marysville, California, she
earned her BA in Sociology at UC Berkeley and her MA and Ed. D from
Mills College. After college, she worked at a rehabilitation hospital
in San Francisco before starting her family. She married her husband
Griffith Adams 44 years ago and they have two children, Nicholau and
Elizabeth. Her family, she says, is her greatest love and
accomplishment.
Ms. Adams has worked at a private school for three years and in the
Piedmont Unified School District for 17 years. To this day, she
volunteers for the Piedmont Minor Offender Program, a program
supporting minors who made poor choices and who are engaging in
positive restitution for growth and development.
In her ten years at HCSD, Ms. Adams has achieved a long list of
innovations and accomplishments. In 2011 and 2012, West was awarded the
distinguished Kent Award for peer coaching and for ``Operation Risk.''
Operation Risk encouraged teachers to innovate even at the risk of
failure. The program was so successful that the school district asked
her to expand it and made it one of five districtwide initiatives. She
also brought a mindfulness program to all grades, introduced flexible
classroom environments and desks to promote learning and innovation,
and empowered students to establish the Principals Advisors Program.
Ms. Adams was the first principal at HCSD to create open forums to
solicit both positive and negative feedback from parents. This openness
to listening and trying new ideas rapidly improved the input from
parents and the district subsequently adopted the model at all
elementary schools.
Ms. Adams understands that the success of a child cannot be measured
solely by test scores. She is an advocate of the whole child
perspective which in some cases makes it acceptable for test scores to
drop for the betterment of the whole child. She oversaw the building of
the environmentally friendly kindergarten wing, formalized the student
council election process, and created other opportunities for students
interested in leadership roles. In 2014, West was named a California
Distinguished School.
When she started her tenure at Crocker Middle School in 2015, she
worked her magic there. She immediately brought calm and confidence to
teachers and staff. She also implemented science into the daily
schedule.
Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to
honor Jamie Adams for her exemplary service to all children and
families in Hillsborough. Her vision, wisdom and leadership have helped
shape the educational system in the entire Hillsborough City School
District.
____________________