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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to honor and congratulate Dominic V. | ||||||
| 4 | Belmonte on his extraordinary contributions to teaching and | ||||||
| 5 | learning in Illinois throughout
his 40-year career in | ||||||
| 6 | education; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Dominic Belmonte taught English for 20 years at | ||||||
| 8 | York Community High School in Elmhurst, where he served as | ||||||
| 9 | chairman of the English department and received one of the | ||||||
| 10 | first Golden Apple
Awards for Excellence in Teaching; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Since 1987, Dominic Belmonte has advanced the | ||||||
| 12 | profession of teaching and deepened the
learning of students as | ||||||
| 13 | a member and chairman of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators; | ||||||
| 14 | and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, In 1989, Dominic Belmonte co-created the Golden | ||||||
| 16 | Apple Scholars of Illinois program, which is
now the Golden | ||||||
| 17 | Apple Foundation's largest program, providing advanced teacher | ||||||
| 18 | preparation and
mentoring both during and after college to | ||||||
| 19 | ensure lasting success in challenging teaching environments; | ||||||
| 20 | and | ||||||
| 21 | WHEREAS, After joining the Golden Apple staff as Director | ||||||
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| 1 | of Teacher Preparation in 1996, Dominic Belmonte
co-created the | ||||||
| 2 | GATE (Golden Apple Teacher Education) program, an alternative | ||||||
| 3 | pathway to teacher
certification for mid-career adults seeking | ||||||
| 4 | a career in teaching elementary school or secondary math or
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| 5 | science; he co-wrote and advocated for the enactment of | ||||||
| 6 | Illinois School Code Section 21-5b to allow
alternative teacher | ||||||
| 7 | certification; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Dominic Belmonte has served as Chief Executive | ||||||
| 9 | Officer of the Golden Apple Foundation since
2006, advancing | ||||||
| 10 | Golden Apple's mission to inspire, develop, and support teacher | ||||||
| 11 | and school leader
excellence in Illinois, especially in | ||||||
| 12 | schools-of-need; under his leadership, the organization has
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| 13 | significantly grown its programs and improved educational | ||||||
| 14 | outcomes for thousands of students across
the State of | ||||||
| 15 | Illinois; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, In addition to leading Golden Apple, Dominic | ||||||
| 17 | Belmonte has served on the board of directors for
the Academy | ||||||
| 18 | for Urban School Leadership; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, Dominic Belmonte is the author of two books, | ||||||
| 20 | "Teaching from the Deep End" and "Teaching on
Solid Ground"; he | ||||||
| 21 | has a bachelor's and master's degree in English from the | ||||||
| 22 | University of Illinois Chicago,
and an honorary doctorate from | ||||||
| 23 | St. Xavier University; therefore, be it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 2 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 3 | recognize the many ways in which Dominic V. Belmonte's | ||||||
| 4 | leadership and
vision have positively transformed teaching and | ||||||
| 5 | learning in our State, and we thank him for his service and
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| 6 | tireless dedication to improving educational outcomes for all | ||||||
| 7 | children; and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to Dominic Belmonte as a symbol of our
esteem and | ||||||
| 10 | respect.
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