Community Outreach
Secretary Slater visits the Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School
On June 25, 1999, former U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater visited the Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Principal Lydia Torres kicked off the visit by speaking about the seven year partnership between the Volpe Center and the Kennedy School. Cambridge School Superintendent Bobbie D'Alessandro also spoke about Volpe Center contributions to education and then introduced the Secretary. He greeted the three second grade classes and the DOT volunteers who participated in the "Lunch Buddies" program this year. Also on hand were RSPA Administrator Kelley S. Coyner and Center Director Richard R. John. The former Secretary spoke enthusiastically about the value of education and in detail about the Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program. After some initial shyness wore off, the children began to bombard him with questions. "Do you live with President Clinton?" "Did you know Martin Luther King?" "Do you know Pedro Martinez?" "Do you have a pet?" When asked if he planned to run to run for President, he replied "The fact that you can ask the question, that I can entertain the possibility, and that no one dismisses it... is very significant."
The Secretary ended his talk with a safety message. Noting that the children would be out for summer vacation the following Wednesday, he urged all the children to have a safe summer and to be sure and buckle up. He then noticed that each child was wearing both a Buckle Up button and a Buckle Up sticker which made quite an impression on him. The visit ended with the children singing two songs, "Viva Mia Barrio" and "Parents are People."