HR0638 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0638 LRB094 14360 CSA 49284 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Kathleen Lange was chosen as the 2005 National Education Association-ESP of the Year; she was also chosen as the Illinois Education Association-ESP of the Year in 2004; and

WHEREAS, IEA-ESP membership exceeds 23,000; its members are actively involved in the association at the local, state, and national levels, in their community organizations, and in school restructuring efforts as partners with their teachers and administrative colleagues; the IEA-ESP award is meant to further emphasize the contributions of Educational Support Professionals to their association, schools, and community; and

WHEREAS, The National Education Association-ESP has over 375,000 members and, each year, one of the 50 state association awardees is chosen as the NEA-ESP of the Year; and

WHEREAS, As the recipient of the NEA-ESP of the Year award, Ms. Lange receives $10,000; she is donating the entire award to the RAINBOWS Program in District 59; RAINBOWS is an international, not-for-profit organization that fosters emotional healing among children grieving a loss from a life-altering crisis, such as divorce, death, or severe illness; and

WHEREAS, Since 1995, she has worked as a Health Care Assistant in a K-5 elementary school; after developing an electronic log for student visits that is now used district-wide at all 14 schools, she accepted a temporary assignment in the Technology Department in November 2004, where she assists members in achieving data quality objectives within the district's web-based database; and

WHEREAS, When Salt Creek School applied to The Lincoln Foundation for the 2004 Lincoln Award for progress toward excellence, she was asked to join the writing team; Salt Creek won the Lincoln Bronze Award for their commitment to adopt and apply continuous improvement principles in their school; and

WHEREAS, After serving as an Association Representative for two years, she was the first ESP elected as president of her wall-to-wall local; in 2002, she was elected as Region Chair, the first time an ESP was elected to serve as Chair of Region 43; as the chair of Region 43, she has worked to help certified members and ESP members see the "common ground" that is shared by all IEA-NEA members; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Kathleen Lange on being chosen as the NEA-ESP of the Year 2005 and wish her the very best in her future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Kathleen Lange as an expression of our admiration and esteem.