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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Ruth Meissen, an
4 art teacher at Harlem Middle School in Loves Park, as Illinois
5 Teacher of the Year; and
 
6     WHEREAS, The Illinois State Board of Education named Ruth
7 Meissen as Illinois Teacher of the Year; she will spend next
8 semester representing Illinois Teachers at State, local and
9 national events; she was named Illinois Teacher of the Year at
10 the 33rd annual Those Who Excel/Illinois Teacher of the Year
11 banquet; and
 
12     WHEREAS, As Illinois Teacher of the Year, Ruth Meissen will
13 have the opportunity to take her knowledge and expertise out of
14 the classroom; she will spend the 2008 spring semester speaking
15 at teacher workshops, educational conferences, and civic and
16 community meetings; she will receive a lifetime tuition waiver
17 to State universities and a one-semester paid leave to pursue
18 coursework or develop an educational project that will benefit
19 students Statewide; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Ruth Meissen will represent Illinois at the NASA
21 Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama and in the National Teacher
22 of the Year program sponsored by the Council of Chief State

 

 

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1 School Officers and ING; she will also receive products and
2 services from Motorola and SMARTer Kids; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Ruth Meissen initially pursued a career in
4 advertising and within a few short years was vice-president of
5 the Northern Illinois Advertising Council; after a few years,
6 she took some time off to raise her second child and it was
7 during that period when she began to think about changing
8 careers; she discovered that she loved being in the classroom;
9 she works with the student council, creating partnerships with
10 businesses that can help students, Habitat for Humanity,
11 fundraising, and adopting a sister school in New Orleans that
12 had experienced severe damage during Hurricane Katrina; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Her work with the Hynes School in New Orleans
14 fostered correspondence programs between the students at
15 Harlem Middle School and students at Hynes; she raised money
16 for supplies and visited the school, at her own expense, to
17 meet the children and their teachers; she holds an art degree
18 from Columbia College and a master's degree in teaching from
19 Rockford College; therefore, be it
 
20     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
22 congratulate Ruth Meissen and wish her continued success as she
23 works as an educator; and be it further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to Ruth Meissen as a symbol of our respect.