HR0425 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0425 LRB095 12186 KXB 36393 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to honor Ross Pesce on his retirement as a psychologist at Morton East High School in Cicero; and

WHEREAS, Ross Pesce arrived at Morton East High School in 1975 as a psychologist intern and remained there as a psychologist; he has worked in a variety of areas including special education and Title 1; and

WHEREAS, Over the years he has supervised dozens of practicum students and psychologist interns; over twenty-five years ago, he, along with one of the deans, structured a student assistance program called Student Assistance in Life (SAIL); through this groundbreaking program current staff pooled their therapeutic resources to screen, refer, and deliver direct service to students who were not receiving special education services; and

WHEREAS, In 1996, Ross Pesce was named the school district's first Student Assistance Program Coordinator; he helped develop and implement numerous programs aimed at violence prevention and crisis management; he acted as the facilitator for two community based violence prevention task forces, one at Morton East and one at Morton West; one memorable event sponsored by the Morton East task force was a Pray, Play, Stay away campaign aimed at keeping community residents in favor of confronting KKK marchers away from them in March of 1998; over 1,800 community residents enjoyed various activities at the school in lieu of confronting the Klan; this collaborative infrastructure proved essential in winning the first Safe Schools, Healthy Students Initiative Grant award in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The award was given by President Clinton and brought $5.4 million to the community and its partners for four years; Ross Pesce served as consultant to this grant and later as Project Director; in 2003 Ross reverted to his role as a psychologist and became the first school district support service personnel CAC in 2004; and

WHEREAS, Ross Pesce will do volunteer work in the community and with the Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership; he will serve as president of the Illinois School Psychologists Association and continue in private practice; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Ross Pesce on his retirement and wish him the best in his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Ross Pesce as a symbol of our respect.