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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Dr. Rhonda Towner on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of her retirement, after 40 years of working in the | ||||||
| 5 | field of education; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Dr. Towner received her Bachelor of Arts and | ||||||
| 7 | Master of Science in Education from Chicago State University; | ||||||
| 8 | she began her career in education in February of 1979 as a high | ||||||
| 9 | school music teacher at Simeon High School in Chicago; during | ||||||
| 10 | her time as a Chicago public school teacher, she also taught | ||||||
| 11 | grades pre-k and 3rd; she later taught 1st grade at a Chicago | ||||||
| 12 | parochial school for five years; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Dr. Towner's administrative career began in 1986 | ||||||
| 14 | when she became the first African-American lay principal of a | ||||||
| 15 | pre-k through eighth grade parochial school in the South Shore | ||||||
| 16 | neighborhood of Chicago; in 1993, her career brought her back | ||||||
| 17 | to the public school system when she became the principal of | ||||||
| 18 | the Early Learning Center in Calumet Park; she was instrumental | ||||||
| 19 | in the design and building of the new primary school in the | ||||||
| 20 | district, which was renamed Burr Oak Academy; during her tenure | ||||||
| 21 | in Calumet Park, she served as a bilingual coordinator, a | ||||||
| 22 | fiscal manager of the Title I program, a grant writer, and as | ||||||
| 23 | an assessment coordinator; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, In 2000, Dr. Towner received her Doctorate in | ||||||
| 2 | Educational Administration and Supervision from Loyola | ||||||
| 3 | University in Chicago; she then became the principal of Maya | ||||||
| 4 | Angelou Elementary School in Harvey; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Dr. Towner joined South Holland District 151 in | ||||||
| 6 | 2002 as the principal of Eisenhower Elementary School; in 2009, | ||||||
| 7 | she received her Chief School Business Official certification | ||||||
| 8 | from Governors State University; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Dr. Towner has been married for 36 years to | ||||||
| 10 | Dennis; they have two daughters and three granddaughters; she | ||||||
| 11 | intends to continue to work in some capacity in education, | ||||||
| 12 | however she plans to spend her retirement traveling, pursuing | ||||||
| 13 | her love for music, completing her bucket list items, spending | ||||||
| 14 | more time with family and friends, and cleaning her house; | ||||||
| 15 | therefore, be it
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| 16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 17 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 18 | we congratulate Dr. Rhonda Towner on her retirement after 40 | ||||||
| 19 | years of working in the field of education, and we wish her the | ||||||
| 20 | best in all her future endeavors; and be it further
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| 21 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
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| 1 | presented to Dr. Towner as a symbol of our respect and esteem.
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