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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Joe Fatheree on
4 being named the Illinois Teacher of the Year for 2006-2007 by
5 the Illinois State Board of Education; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Joe Fatheree began his teaching profession in 1990
7 as an English teacher at Effingham High School; in 1994 he
8 became a history teacher, and in 2000 he accepted the position
9 of technology instructor; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Three years ago he started a program that
11 exemplifies his passion for helping students become successful
12 learners and citizens; the program "No Barriers
13 Project-creating opportunity through education" was designed
14 to help students understand how extreme poverty impacts student
15 success; and
 
16     WHEREAS, His first effort was recruiting a group of
17 students to pilot a poverty literacy program; during the
18 program's first year, students collected over 2500 coats for
19 homeless children living in the St. Louis Area; in the second
20 year, the students collected over 4000 books and partnered with
21 KCET, a PBS station in St. Louis, to find a literacy expert to
22 take the books into homes of disenfranchised children to help

 

 

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1 them improve their reading skills; Joe Fatheree also formed a
2 partnership with a school in East St. Louis where his students
3 strengthen their skills by teaching visual story-telling
4 skills to students from East St. Louis; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The program is now in its third year, and students
6 from both schools are working cooperatively to develop media
7 projects; those participating in the program are learning about
8 other cultures and breaking down the barriers of
9 miscommunication and misunderstanding; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Joe Fatheree received a Bachelor's degree in
11 history from Eastern Illinois University and a Master's degree
12 in Educational Administration; he will have the opportunity to
13 take some time off from teaching and will spend the 2007 spring
14 semester speaking at teacher workshops, educational
15 conferences, and civic and community meetings; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Joe Fatheree will receive a lifetime tuition
17 waiver to State universities and a one-semester paid leave to
18 pursue coursework or develop an educational project that will
19 benefit students statewide; he will also represent Illinois at
20 the NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama and in the National
21 Teacher of the Year program sponsored by the Council of Chief
22 State School Officers, Scholastic, Inc., and ING; therefore, be
23 it
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
3 congratulate Joe Fatheree and wish him continued success in the
4 future; and be it further
 
5     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to Joe Fatheree as a symbol of our respect.