Former Groton Principal to Join Congressman Courtney for Trump's Congressional Address

NORWICH, CT — Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, announced Friday that Valerie Nelson will be his guest for President Donald Trump’s upcoming address to a joint-session of Congress.

Nelson is the longtime principal of the Charles Barnum Elementary School in Groton who retired in June of 2015. Earlier this year, the Barnum school received a National Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education for exceptional performance in closing the achievement gap.

“At a time when many government leaders are now openly questioning the value of public education, Val Nelson’s incredible success leading the Charles Barnum School in Groton stands as a towering example of public education as its best,” Courtney said in a release. “Val served at the helm of the Barnum school for twenty-five years, including in 2010 and 2011 when the Connecticut Mastery Test showed that 100 percent of students from the third grade to the fifth grade scored as proficient or higher in the mathematics portion of the test."

In January, Courtney visited the Barnum school to celebrate their National Blue Ribbon Award, meeting with school administrators and delivering congratulatory remarks.

"Her work is a testament to what public school administrators, teachers, and students can achieve with the right leadership and parental involvement that makes the Barnum school so extraordinary," Courtney said. "As many know in southeastern Connecticut, the Barnum student body consists of a large number of children of Navy personnel whose families experience frequent school transitions as assignments change. Val developed a strong support system for kids whose parents were deployed on submarine duty for long periods, and kept the Barnum school team focused on educational success."

During a recent hearing of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, which Courtney has been a member of since 2007, he voiced his support for public education and his opposition to so-called voucher proposals that would divert resources from public schools to private schools.

“As a longtime member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, I know that our public education system is one of the primary drivers behind our country’s success over the past century," Courtney said. "I will continue to oppose all efforts to undermine our public education system or divert badly needed resources to private schools that do not carry the same mission of equal service for all that our public schools carry out each day. “

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