[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1188-E1189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

HONORING ED HATRICK

_____

HON. FRANK R. WOLF

of virginia

in the house of representatives

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Ed Hatrick, who
served as superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools for 23 years
before retiring on June 30.
Ed spent his entire career in Loudoun County, starting as a high
school English teacher in 1967. He also served as a principal, director
of special education, director of instruction, supervisor of guidance
and foreign languages and assistant superintendent for pupil services
before becoming superintendent in 1991.
As superintendent, Ed has watched Loudoun grow from a rural farming
community with 8,000 students into a suburban community with a student
population of 70,000 students. Since 1991, Loudoun County has
constructed 54 new schools and renovated 33 more.
Ed has served as president of the Urban Superintendents Association
of America and president of the American Association of School
Administrators. He also has served in numerous professional and
community offices and has been recognized for his work by the General
Assembly of Virginia. He received an honorary doctor of humanities
degree from Shenandoah University for his community service.
I am pleased to submit the following article from Leesburg Today on
Ed's career and retirement. I ask that my colleagues join me in
congratulating him for many years of distinguished service to our
nation's youth.

[From Leesburg Today, June 24, 2014.]

Superintendent Hatrick Honored as ``Uncommon Common Man''

(By Danielle Nadler)

Even at 9:30 p.m. on a Friday, Edgar B. Hatrick III
couldn't help but teach.
Standing in a sprawling ballroom with some of the
commonwealth's most influential individuals at his retirement
dinner, the 23-year superintendent and former high school
English teacher launched into a metaphor.
He said, as geese fly in formation they offer encouragement
to the lead goose through their honking, and when the lead
goose tires, another pulls forward to take the lead. The
story left many in the room chuckling. They'd heard it
repeated at staff meetings and back-to-school orientations
over the years.
Hatrick laughed with them, before finally interrupting the
chatter to say, ``That's what being in Loudoun County Public
Schools has been all about.
``I have felt the warmth, the support and the understanding
that has led me to say if I had to do it all over again--the
whole 47-and-a-half years--I would not change one thing,'' he
said, fighting back tears. ``It has been just that wonderful
to be able to work with you to build up this school system.''
Hatrick, 68, retires Monday as the region's longest serving
superintendent. More than 500 people crowded the National
Conference Center ballroom Friday to thank Hatrick for his
service to help shape the learning experiences of hundreds of
thousands of students in Virginia.
Politicians and fellow school administrators praised
Hatrick for his influence on public education on a national
and even global scale. He drew attention to Loudoun when it
was the fastest growing school system in the country, opening
50 new schools to keep up with enrollment that has increased
by 53,637 students during his tenure. And as former president
of the American Association of School Administrators, he
united superintendents to advocate better measures of
schools' effectiveness than the federal No Child Left Behind
model.
AASA Executive Director Dan Domenech described him as ``a
recognized brand for education around the world.''
But it was the stories of Hatrick, from as early as his
high school years when friends knew him as Skip, that best
illustrate what he's been to Loudoun County, an individual
the Loudoun Education Foundation called an ``uncommon common
man.''
His former classmate Karolyn Whitely and Evan Mohler,
former assistant superintendent for Support Services,
described Hatrick as the student teachers wanted in

[[Page E1189]]

their classes, and the teen who set the bar on test scores
and class projects.
``As a teenager, he was very focused and very
hardworking,'' Whitely said.
``He was shaping education in Loudoun County back in
1962,'' Mohler said, ``and here we are 52 years later--he's
still setting the standard of excellence.''
He spent his entire educational career in Loudoun's public
schools, first on the payroll as a school bus driver during
his senior year in high school. He graduated from Loudoun
County High School in 1963 and returned to his alma mater
after four years of college to teach English.
He especially loved teaching British literature, former
Broad Run High School teacher Jo Ann Pearson recalled. So
much so that he required one of his senior classes to
memorize the bulk of the Canterbury Tales Prologue in Middle
English.
Hatrick commented on this bit of leaked information later
in the evening, saying, ``In my defense, I listened to each
of them recite it.''
He served as assistant principal at Broad Run High School
from 1969 to 1970, and as principal of Loudoun County High
School from 1975 to 1978. He moved up the administration
ranks to positions that had him overseeing special education,
foreign language, instruction, planning and pupil services
before he was named superintendent in 1991.
He served as superintendent under five school boards, and
three former School Board members--Joe Vogric, John Andrews
and Robert DuPree--did not hesitate to say that the
superintendent was stubborn when it came to fighting for
funding for public education.
Whether board members wanted it or not, he gave them his
opinion, Vogric said, ``and it wasn't always done in a way
that we liked it . . . . but it was about setting policies
and taking actions to ensure the best education of our
children.''
Most of the stories shared well beyond dinnertime Friday
described Hatrick as a colleague, a mentor and a friend.
Whether a custodian or a principal loses a loved one, the
superintendent can usually be seen at the funeral. Plays,
football games, science fairs, club dedications, essay
contests and, yes, retirement dinners, he's been there.
``We always knew that he cared about us,'' Pearson said.
``There's still a family feel about this district because
that's how he wants it to be,'' Sharon Ackerman, who worked
alongside Hatrick as assistant superintendent of instruction
for 15 years, said.
W. John Brewer, principal at Dominion High School, joked
that the school administration office, while called the Taj
Mahal or ``the palace'' by some, ``from time to time it's
simply the woodshed.'' He said Hatrick didn't scold
principals or teachers but he used those moments to teach.
``He helped us grow personally and professionally,'' Brewer
said. ``We've become better educators, and we've become
better people.''
Whitely, who attended high school with Hatrick and later
taught under his leadership, told a story about the
superintendent's impression at their class's recent 50-year
reunion. After a friend greeted Hatrick, she leaned over to
Whitely and said, ``You know, success hasn't spoiled him one
bit. He's still Skip.''
Eric Williams will officially take the helm of the school
system as superintendent Tuesday.

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