Full Text of HR0258 98th General Assembly
HR0258 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives congratulate the 420 dedicated and | 4 | | path-breaking parent mentors for their daily commitment to | 5 | | working with
early childhood students; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Decades of research confirms when families are | 7 | | involved in their children's education, children perform | 8 | | better in school, attend school more regularly, complete more | 9 | | homework, demonstrate more positive attitudes and behaviors, | 10 | | graduate from high school at higher rates, and are more likely | 11 | | to enroll in higher education; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Illinois is proud to be home to the nation's | 13 | | leading model for parent engagement-the Parent
Mentor Program; | 14 | | and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In only 6 months, through an Illinois State Board | 16 | | of Education grant to the Illinois Coalition for
Immigrant and | 17 | | Refugee Rights, the Parent Mentor Program has expanded | 18 | | successfully to 13 communities
throughout Illinois - Aurora, | 19 | | Bolingbrook, Chicago Ridge, East Moline, Moline, Skokie, and 8 | 20 | | communities
throughout Chicago; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Strong partnerships have been formed between |
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| 1 | | local schools and the following community
organizations: Arab | 2 | | American Family Services, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, | 3 | | Casa Guanajuato,
Developing Communities Project, Enlace | 4 | | Chicago, Family Focus Aurora, Logan Square Neighborhood
| 5 | | Association, Mujeres Latinas en Accion, Niles Township ELL | 6 | | Parent Center and Open Communities,
Northwest Side Housing | 7 | | Center, Southwest Organizing Project, Southwest Suburban | 8 | | Immigrant Project, and
The Resurrection Project; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, These community organizations have recruited and | 10 | | trained over 420 parent mentors, mostly
immigrant and African | 11 | | American women, to work directly with students in the classroom | 12 | | for 2 hours per day
every day; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, The dedication of parent mentors has cut the | 14 | | adult-student ratio in half and increased individual
attention | 15 | | to more than 10,000 low-income early childhood students every | 16 | | day, particularly in Illinois' growing
student body of English | 17 | | language learners; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Over 420 teachers in high-needs positions benefit | 19 | | working side-by-side with a parent mentor on a
daily basis and | 20 | | benefit a deepened understanding of the community in which they | 21 | | teach; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, 44 school administrators from across the State |
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| 1 | | have testified that the Parent Mentor Program has
become so | 2 | | integral to their schools that their "teachers can no longer | 3 | | imagine their classrooms without their
parent mentors"; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The Parent Mentor Program has an 18 year track | 5 | | record of improving test scores and increasing
high school | 6 | | graduation rates based on the model programs of Logan Square | 7 | | Neighborhood Association and
Southwest Organizing Project; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The Parent Mentor Program is a leading immigrant | 9 | | integration and women's leadership model,
offering a ladder of | 10 | | opportunity and opening doors for parents-mostly immigrant and | 11 | | African American
women-into education, careers, and public | 12 | | life; thus changing their own family's whole trajectory; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The Parent Mentor Program offers parents not only | 14 | | an opportunity to volunteer or attend a
workshop, but to | 15 | | develop as leaders to transform their lives, schools, and | 16 | | communities; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The Parent Mentor Program is a cost-effective | 18 | | program, costing approximately $200 per early
childhood | 19 | | student; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Communities downstate and throughout northern | 21 | | Illinois are eager to bring the Parent Mentor
Program to their |
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| 1 | | schools; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 3 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 4 | | we express our support for appropriating the Parent Mentor
| 5 | | Program for Early Childhood Education at $3.5 million through | 6 | | an Illinois State Board of Education grant to the
Illinois | 7 | | Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to the Illinois State Board of Education and the | 10 | | Parent Mentor Program.
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