Risa
First Congressional District of New Mexico
GO

Home

About Heather

District Profile

Constituent Services

News Center

Issues

E-News

Student Corner

Contact Heather

White Line Space
Default Image
Bottom Shadow
Left Space Hot Topics Left Space
Hot Topics Lines Welcome Home Hot Topics Lines

Hot Topics Lines Economic Stimulus Hot Topics Lines

Hot Topics Lines Social Security Debit Cards Hot Topics Lines

 

Left Space
Contact
Left Space


ask.heather@mail.house.gov

In Washington DC
442 Cannon House
Office Building
Washington, DC
20515
202-225-6316 Phone
202-225-4975 Fax
In Albuquerque
20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603
Albuquerque, NM
87102
505-346-6781 Phone
505-346-6723 Fax

White Line Space
Hardhat Heather 1
White Line Space
E-news Submit Button
Printer Friendly
White Line Space

Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico


Postcard
space
This is unacceptable. . . July 05, 2001
 
CHALKING IT UP: Heather talks education with students at Albuquerque`s Lew Wallace Elementary.

Dear Friends, When I read the headlines in the paper on Tuesday morning, I couldn`t help feeling disappointed. "Drop Out Rate Up 2%". One third of our kids aren`t graduating from high school. At Rio Grande, half the kids who started their freshman year didn`t walk across the stage to get their diplomas. That`s unacceptable. Monday had been one of those wonderful days. I don`t have to travel to Washington this week so I spent the day seeing things and talking to people. I went through the FAA`s regional air traffic control operation up on Paseo where 500 well-trained New Mexicans keep thousands of aircraft safely on their way to their destinations in the southwest every day. I met with a group of business people to talk about how to get high speed communications to New Mexico. We held a town hall meeting in the break room at the "Flying Forty" company SVS, recently bought by Boeing where they design and build tracking and guidance systems for lasers. And I went by MIOX, where they build water purification systems that don`t use chlorine and SMART Systems where they are using computer power to save energy and automate the things you use in your home. I spent my lunchtime at Phil Chacon Park with the folks from the Summer Food Program passing out chicken and peaches and milk to over 200 polite children. It`s the summer version of the federal school lunch program. The city runs it at 140 places around town every weekday. Most of the children I served lunch to on Monday do not speak English well. They have little in the way of material things, but they have tremendous opportunity if they work hard, stay sober and get an education. We can`t afford to leave them behind and the companies I visited desparately need educated employees. In 1900, only 15% of American adults had a high school degree. But in 1900, one third of Americans still lived on the farm and you didn`t need a good education to get a job that could support a family. The world is not like that anymore. Every child must have the tools to be able to succeed in the 21st century. We cannot afford to leave a third of Albuquerque`s children behind. I don`t believe there are simple answers, and I don`t believe it is someone else`s problem. It`s going to take all of us -- parents and teachers, elected officials and business owners, neighbors and taxpayers. It starts by stating the obvious: this is unacceptable. Good to be home, Heather
space



Privacy Statement
| Toolbox | Hablas Español?