Full Text of HR0480 099th General Assembly
HR0480 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, After 35 years in public education, with over half | 3 | | of that spent in school leadership roles, Wil Wagner is a man | 4 | | who has dedicated his life's work to the passionate and | 5 | | unfailing support of thousands of kids; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, After working in several DuPage County high | 7 | | schools as a Dean, Wil Wagner was named Principal at West | 8 | | Leyden High School in 2004; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Wil Wagner's cultural experiences, combined with | 10 | | his school leadership tenures in the surrounding area, made him | 11 | | a leader within the Leyden educational community; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, In 2006, Wil Wagner worked to install a freshmen | 13 | | mentoring program, ACCESS, which has improved the school | 14 | | culture and student leadership opportunities in the building; 2 | 15 | | years later, he initiated a supportive program called "Guided | 16 | | Study" for all sophomores and juniors who received failing | 17 | | grades in core classes; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, In 2010, Wil Wagner began another program for | 19 | | failing freshmen; unlike Guided Study, which was staffed by | 20 | | teachers, he and the administration facilitated the hour-long | 21 | | study program for freshmen after school; the success of the |
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| 1 | | program has been amazing, as the current rate of freshmen | 2 | | failing multiple classes is below 5%; both programs experienced | 3 | | transformative success and the number of students failing core | 4 | | classes at West Leyden has decreased in almost every year since | 5 | | their inception; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, In 2012, the Leyden District became one of the | 7 | | first 3 districts nationwide to fully implement one to one | 8 | | computing with Google Chromebooks and Google Apps for | 9 | | Education; Wil Wagner has been a calming voice in this | 10 | | innovative transition, helping the school community integrate | 11 | | technology to enhance learning, but always keeping a focus on | 12 | | the best device for learning - the teachers; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Under Wil Wagner's leadership, Leyden was named | 14 | | the 2014 National AP School District of the Year by the College | 15 | | Board for raising enrollment and achievement in Advanced | 16 | | Placement classes, especially with minority and at-risk | 17 | | populations; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Wil Wagner has also committed to forming strong | 19 | | bonds with the school community; he has forged relationships | 20 | | with the students, parents, and stakeholders at West Leyden by | 21 | | bringing parents into the building through a variety of | 22 | | non-traditional interactions; he personally cooked pancake | 23 | | breakfasts for freshmen parents on Saturday mornings to |
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| 1 | | incentivize parents of struggling students to visit the school; | 2 | | he also sent buses into the community to pick up parents to | 3 | | bring them to teacher conferences and personally visits the | 4 | | homes of students who struggle to attend school; he is | 5 | | relentless in his pursuit of these connections that ultimately | 6 | | lead to greater chances for student success; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, This past year, Wil Wagner organized a service | 8 | | trip to Mexico for 45 students; after he personally initiated a | 9 | | massive fundraising campaign, Leyden students worked at the | 10 | | "Casa Hogar" orphanage in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a week | 11 | | last June; many students described the trip as "life-changing", | 12 | | and another service trip to Mexico is already underway; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Wil Wagner is a collaborative leader who has | 14 | | impacted the culture of learning for students and the quality | 15 | | of careers for educators; he commands the highest level of | 16 | | respect from teachers with his ethical decision making, his | 17 | | professional relationships, and a "dreamer's" mindset that | 18 | | anything is possible; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 20 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 21 | | recognize the accomplishments and dedication of Wil Wagner and | 22 | | his service as Principal of West Leyden High School in the City | 23 | | of Northlake; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That we congratulate Wil Wagner on his many years | 2 | | of service and his retirement from the education profession; | 3 | | and be it further | 4 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 5 | | presented to Wil Wagner as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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