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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to honor Victor Gómez on being named 2025 | ||||||
| 4 | Illinois Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of | ||||||
| 5 | Education; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Leyden High School District 212 is a dynamic, | ||||||
| 7 | ever-changing public high school district that serves pupils | ||||||
| 8 | and their families in Cook County; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Within Leyden High School District 212, the | ||||||
| 10 | Eagles of East Leyden High School in Franklin Park and West | ||||||
| 11 | Leyden High School in Northlake number more than 3,500 pupils | ||||||
| 12 | in grades nine though 12 who are bound towards full adulthood; | ||||||
| 13 | and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, In our current world, a knowledge of science is | ||||||
| 15 | increasingly essential towards the goal of career-based | ||||||
| 16 | adulthood, family leadership, and fully flourishing as a human | ||||||
| 17 | being; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, Aiming at this goal at Leyden High School | ||||||
| 19 | District 212, Victor Gómez has, over a six-year period, taught | ||||||
| 20 | science to hundreds of students in the two high schools, | ||||||
| 21 | especially at East Leyden; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Victor Gómez has walked a path of bilingual | ||||||
| 2 | teaching, making his classrooms a place of learning for | ||||||
| 3 | students for whom Spanish is one of their first languages; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Victor Gómez's fellow teachers and current and | ||||||
| 5 | former administrators and principals of Leyden High School | ||||||
| 6 | District 212 sought to honor him with a nomination for him to | ||||||
| 7 | receive the honor of Illinois State Board of Education 2025 | ||||||
| 8 | Illinois Teacher of the Year; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, After carefully studying the nomination materials | ||||||
| 10 | submitted on behalf of Victor Gómez, together with other | ||||||
| 11 | nominations submitted on behalf of 12 other superb teachers | ||||||
| 12 | throughout Illinois who were finalists for this award, the | ||||||
| 13 | Illinois State Board of Education selected him to receive the | ||||||
| 14 | highest annual honor presented to a working public school | ||||||
| 15 | teacher in Illinois; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, On April 23, 2025, State Superintendent of | ||||||
| 17 | Education Dr. Tony Sanders presented Victor Gómez with the | ||||||
| 18 | news that he was the honoree as 2025 Illinois Teacher of the | ||||||
| 19 | Year; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, With the assistance of the Illinois State Board | ||||||
| 21 | of Education, Leyden High School District 212 has granted | ||||||
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| 1 | Teacher of the Year Victor Gómez with a 12 month sabbatical, | ||||||
| 2 | during which he will work within the National Teacher of the | ||||||
| 3 | Year competition to represent Illinois teachers in teaching | ||||||
| 4 | excellence, with particular focuses dedicated to science | ||||||
| 5 | teaching and to the teaching of pupils in a setting dedicated | ||||||
| 6 | to English learners; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 8 | HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 9 | we join the Illinois State Board of Education, Victor Gómez's | ||||||
| 10 | educational colleagues, and his past and present pupils in | ||||||
| 11 | honoring him as the 2025 Illinois Teacher of the Year; and be | ||||||
| 12 | it further | ||||||
| 13 | RESOLVED, That we wish Victor Gómez well as he represents | ||||||
| 14 | Illinois teachers during his current year of honor; and be it | ||||||
| 15 | further | ||||||
| 16 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 17 | presented to Superintendent of Leyden High School District 212 | ||||||
| 18 | Nick Polyak and to Illinois 2025 Teacher of the Year Victor | ||||||
| 19 | Gómez. | ||||||